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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/24182986">A LEGEND OF LIONS AND SNAKES [UPDATE: read latest tag]</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/rebelcracker/pseuds/rebelcracker'>rebelcracker</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>The School for Good and Evil - Soman Chainani</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Alternate Universe - Superheroes/Superpowers, F/F, F/M, How Do I Tag, Other Additional Tags to Be Added</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>In-Progress</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-05-14</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-09-05</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-18 04:20:19</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>8</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>23,135</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/24182986</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/rebelcracker/pseuds/rebelcracker</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Tedros arched an eyebrow, “Are you Animae?”<br/>Oh, crud.<br/>Sophie had never prepared for someone to ask her that question. She should have — what did she think would happen? That people would just fail to question her being this strong?<br/>She took a breath, trying to stay cool. “Do you think I’m Animae?”</p><p>Alternatively: Sophie has superpowers, and she's trying to keep them a secret so she doesn't have to join the world of the superheroes known as the Animae. That backfires quickly.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Anadil/Hester (The School for Good and Evil), Beatrix/Reena (The School for Good and Evil), Sophie/Tedros (The School for Good and Evil)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>3</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>26</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Collections:</b></td><td>SGE Fandom Big Bang</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. EASY</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Some things had become too easy for Sophie, but she didn’t want them to be.<br/>
For instance, bench pressing.<br/>
She removed the bar from the rack, bracing herself for an onslaught of weight that never came. Somehow as soon as she lifted the bar her muscles were ready for it, and Sophie could have sworn she wasn’t even holding anything. How did this happen? She’d piled as much weight on the bar as it could hold, and it still felt like nothing.<br/>
To be honest, there wasn’t much she could do about that.<br/>
With an easy breath, she unlocked the bar and lowered it to her chest. Once they were only a few inches apart she stopped and locked her arms once again, letting the bar sit there for a moment. Then she gave a push upwards — at this point most people would have struggled for a few seconds to get it back up again, but for Sophie the bar flew straight up and allowed her to return to her starting position. Sophie grew a small smirk as she brought the bar down, then lifted it again. One more press; no pain. Even after ten, her muscles still felt the same. She closed her eyes and blew through so many she lost track — twenty, thirty, forty…<br/>
Like she said, too easy, though it shouldn’t have been –<br/>
“Ahem.”<br/>
Sophie looked up at the bodybuilder waiting for the bench press, white-haired and glaring at her with bloodshot eyes. She let out a sigh and placed the bar back on the rack, then gave the bodybuilder an apologetic smile. He sent back a glare as he started sliding weight off the bar.<br/>
After she left, Sophie wandered around the gym for a moment, looking for something to do next — until the bell on the front door rang, distracting her. She looked up and watched a boy of about seventeen or eighteen — her age — walk in. His corn silk hair jutted out from under a hoodie Sophie could have sworn she’d seen at a music awards show last week, and sweatpants straight from an Adidas ad in one of Honey’s magazines. He turned her way and his eyes shone, even under the fluorescent lights.<br/>
New emotions flooded through Sophie — first jealousy, then admiration and finally desire.<br/>
She turned away, praying the boy hadn’t noticed her yet, and gave herself a quick once-over — thankfully all her gold hair remained tightly braided, her skin glimmered thanks to a nearly invisible layer of sweat. Her sports bra and leggings, though not nearly as expensive looking as the boy’s clothes, showed off her slight muscles in a way that made her look more like an activewear model than someone working out. But did he like that, or would it make him think of her as vain?<br/>
Out of the corner of her eye, Sophie noticed the boy walking in her direction — she yelped softly and swivelled away. She dragged herself towards the equipment furthest away from the boy, which happened to be punching bags, something she always struggled with. Great.<br/>
She grabbed a pair of boxing gloves and pulled them on, then worked her way to the bag and started throwing punches. The bag swung back and forth as she made impact with it and she wished that someone would step up and show her how this thing actually worked.<br/>
Her wish came true. The boy appeared next to her — now wearing a T-shirt — and fixed his own gloves. For a moment his eyes locked with hers. Then he turned to a bag next to her and started throwing punches with much better form than she had. Sophie watched for a moment, then hesitantly copied him — the bag flew back and swung towards her so forcefully she had to stop it with her hands. She glanced up and saw the boy watching her now, a hint of a smile on his lips. With a slight roll of her eyes, she continued punching.<br/>
They spent several minutes working like that — throwing their own punches, never talking but occasionally looking over at one another and making eye contact. The longer Sophie spent working on her punches, trying to mimic the boy, the more confident she grew. After about four minutes she could match his confident smirks with her own — which only made him start punching harder. Sophie followed suit without missing a beat and their shared workout turned into a competition. As their punches grew harder both began to breathe a bit heavier, and though the boy’s T-shirt darkened with sweat Sophie only wiped her forehead and kept going, energy building with each punch. As seven minutes ticked by and the boy began to struggle, Sophie felt no strain, just a will to compete, a will to win.<br/>
“Stop!”<br/>
Sophie’s eyes flicked up as the boy took a breath and stepped back from the bag. “I– I can’t,” he breathed.<br/>
She hesitated, then stepped back from her own bag and watched it swing back and forth. Her feeling of strength caught in her throat — over so soon? Finally, she let out a sigh, balled her fist one last time and gave the bag a final whump. Maybe she shouldn't have hit it so hard.<br/>
The bag exploded away from her with so much force it went horizontal and the swivel hook tore from the eyebolt, sending the bag flying across the gym. People took one look at the bag hurtling through the room and fell to the floor to avoid it. Conversations quieted down; gear stopped moving until the only sound in the room was the bag slicing through the air. After a moment, the bag slammed into a mirror on the other side of the room, setting off a cloud of dust and slumped down on the floor.<br/>
Someone on an elliptical pointed at Sophie, who stared at the bag with wide eyes and both hands clamped over her mouth. Her eyes flicked up — everyone in the gym stared back at her.<br/>
Sophie took a deep breath, shoved her hands in her pockets and started walking forwards. Even though her head was down she could still feel everyone staring at her. Her feet dragged behind her as she approached the bag. Cheeks burning, she bent over to pick it up –<br/>
Someone else wrapped their arms around the other end of the bag and Sophie glanced up to see the boy from before. She smiled slightly at him, then lifted her side. Together they started backing towards where the punching bag was supposed to be.<br/>
“Well, all I can say is, I didn’t expect that to happen,” the boy said as people started to resume their workouts.<br/>
Sophie glanced up, then a moment later said, “You didn’t have to help me. I could have gotten it myself–“<br/>
“Ah, I don’t mind.”<br/>
“Um … Thanks.”<br/>
At that point they’d reached the other bags and the boy lifted theirs up to place it back onto the eyebolt.<br/>
Sophie tilted her head, “You kind of look like you’ve done this before.”<br/>
“Mm, you can blame a shoddy setup job for that,” He let out a sigh as he hung the bag up, then took a step back as it swung around a bit, “All right, that’s over now.”<br/>
“Thanks again,” Sophie shoved her hands deeper in her pockets.<br/>
“Like I said, I don’t mind,” He tried to lean on the bag, then realized how dumb that idea was and stood casually. “You’re pretty good at this, though. I think if you try a heavier bag next time and keep working on it you’ll be a pro in no time.”<br/>
Sophie shot him a grin. The boy gave her a two-finger salute, then turned away and started pulling off his gloves. Sophie sighed and pulled her own gloves off, then wiped her hands on her leggings and offered one to the boy, “I’m Sophie. Sophie Taylor.”<br/>
He glanced at her hand, and his eyes widened when she said the last word. “T– Taylor?” he stammered, “As in–”<br/>
“Vanessa Taylor, yeah.” Sophie sighed, “She was my mom.”<br/>
The boy’s face fell — why did this happen every time she told someone her last name? “I– I’m so sorry,” he stammered.<br/>
“Don’t be,” Sophie shook her head, “It’s been three years. I’m fine now.”<br/>
He sighed and took her hand, “Tedros Elliott.”<br/>
Sophie’s mouth dropped open, “Arthur Elliott’s son?”<br/>
“Yup,” He looked about as excited as she’d been when he brought up Vanessa.<br/>
Oh man, Sophie bit her tongue to keep from smiling. If Nic knew that Sophie had flirted with the son of the second richest person in the whole city, she would literally faint.<br/>
Tedros let go of her hand, bringing her back to the present. He smiled and pointed at a rack of weights halfway across the gym, “I’m gonna lift now, care to join me?”<br/>
“I can, but if you’re not up to watching a girl lift more than you, I don’t recommend it.”<br/>
“You think you can lift more than I can?” Tedros’s grin returned into the mischievous one he’d had at the punching bags earlier.<br/>
“Yeah. I mean, I’m stronger than I look.”<br/>
Tedros arched an eyebrow, “Are you Animae?”<br/>
Oh, crud.<br/>
Sophie had never prepared for someone to ask her that question. She should have — what did she think would happen? That people would just fail to question her being this strong?<br/>
She took a breath, trying to stay cool, “Do you think I’m Animae?”<br/>
He shrugged, “I’m not sure.”<br/>
“What about you?” Sophie crossed her arms, “Are you Animae?”<br/>
His grin widened, “Do you think I’m Animae?”<br/>
Well, that went nowhere. “If you won’t be honest with me, I’ll have to assume the answer is yes. Real Animae never give out their true identities.”<br/>
“Huh,” Tedros crossed his arms, “If you assume I’m Animae, then I’ll have to assume you are too, seeing as you’re not giving me an answer either.”<br/>
“I’ll make you a deal, then. Whoever lifts the least has to tell the truth.”<br/>
“If you lose, will you tell me?” Tedros’s eyebrows furrowed — he probably already knew her answer.<br/>
“I don’t have anything to say,” Sophie flounced in front of him — were there Animae who could tell when people were lying?<br/>
“I don’t either,” Tedros walked up to join her, “You ready to lose?”<br/>
Sophie turned to him, “Oh, no. I’m going to win.”<br/>
“You’re on, Sophie Taylor.”<br/>
Sophie grinned, “This is going to be too easy.”</p><p> </p><p>Beating Tedros didn’t take long. However, after a few minutes of interrogation, Sophie gave up on trying to get an honest answer out of him. He’d just redirected all her questions or given unclear answers. Honestly, in that situation she would have done the same thing, but she found it more annoying to be on the other end.<br/>
After the failed questioning, Honey sent her a text telling her to come home for lunch. As much as Sophie would rather grab a burger after her workout, she’d left her wallet at home; so it was either eat at home or stay here and starve. She’d picked food.<br/>
Sophie opened the front door of her apartment and took a deep breath in. Was that… pork sandwiches? Okay, now she knew coming home for lunch was a good decision.<br/>
After dumping her bag near the front door Sophie swung into the kitchen. When Vanessa was here, the room had looked like one from a house for sale and not one that an actual family used. Now that Honey was in charge, you could definitely tell that it was constantly occupied: piles of dishes in the sink, several towels thrown onto counters and even two pieces of cucumber lying on the floor. At least now someone used the kitchen — before Honey had moved in no one in the house really knew how to cook.<br/>
Honey glanced up in the middle of tossing a salad. “Hey!” she cried, pulling off her apron and squeezing Sophie into a hug. Sophie tensed — she still wasn’t accustomed to being squished into Honey’s enormous bosom every day. Honey finally let Sophie go and held her at arm’s length — Sophie tried not to wince at her rough walnut skin, calloused fingers, and untamed black ringlets, “So how did the workout go?”<br/>
“Fine.” Sophie shrugged her off and started walking towards the dinner table.<br/>
“Just fine? Nothing interesting happened?”<br/>
Sophie sat down one chair away from the table’s end. She noticed the barbecue sauce-smothered pork next to her and her mouth began to water.<br/>
Honey came up behind her, wiping her hands on a towel, “You know, it feels like only yesterday you wouldn’t even eat chicken. You were… oh, I don’t remember the word.”<br/>
“Vegan,” Sophie reminded her, remembering the day she’d quit, back when Stefan and Honey were still dating and Sophie’s “changes” were just beginning. Stefan dragged Sophie to one of Adam’s baby-league soccer games, then to the team’s afterparty at Stefan’s favourite burger place. Sophie planned on getting her usual low-calorie salad, but when she stepped inside the smell of patties hit her so hard she decided to take a cheat day. Then she took the first bite of burger she’d had in four years and knew there was no possible way she could keep off meat for the rest of her life.<br/>
“RIght. I didn’t know many vegans when I lived in North Carolina.”<br/>
Pulled out of her reminiscence, Sophie glanced up at Honey. “Oh. Right. North Carolina. When you were with…”<br/>
Sophie didn’t even finish her sentence before Honey glanced down, her smile gone.<br/>
“Well,” Sophie bit her lip. “I’m not vegan anymore, and that pork looks really good. Where’d you find that recipe, anyways?”<br/>
Honey smiled slowly. “Oh, it was my nanna’s–”<br/>
“Sophieee!” two voices squealed from the living room. A second later Sophie’s step-brothers — Jacob and Adam — sprinted into the dining room and brandished their action figures at Sophie’s face.<br/>
“Look at what Daddy got us!” cheered Adam, the older of the two at eight years. Sophie swore his curly hair, which almost reached his shoulders now, had grown three inches since last night.<br/>
“Okay, okay, gimme some space!” Sophie pushed the figures away from her face and squinted at them — tiny replicas of two famous Goldmasks, complete with their costumes and detailed masks, “Huh. Those are Chameleon and… Panther, right?”<br/>
“Yeah. They’re so cool!” Jacob, two years younger than his brother and far more messy-haired, started spinning around as he held Panther up to the sky. Sophie laughed.<br/>
“Okay. Adam, do you mind calling your dad inside for lunch?” Honey cut in, plopping the salad bowl onto the table and wiping her hands. Adam nodded and ran off, while Jacob started running in circles around the table, prompting Honey to start barking at him.<br/>
A room over, the channel on the TV changed and the blaring voice of a news reporter filled the house. Sophie leaned to the side and stared at it for a moment as a dreary reporter droned on about some lawsuit against the city.<br/>
And then the scene changed.<br/>
Half-built towers stood over grey, cracked streets. Every railing of every fire escape had been bent, every wall containing a burn mark, but no lights in the buildings on. In fact, the only sign there’d been any life in the last fifty years was the bright graffiti covering all the walls — ranging from hooligans signing their names in illegible letters to full-on murals of the most famous Animae.<br/>
This was the Snake District — or what it looked like during the day anyway.<br/>
Sophie gulped down the feeling of fear building inside her throat and listened in to the report.<br/>
“…significant damage to the shop,” the reporter said as the camera zoomed in on a tiny shop with a turned-off neon sign and a caved-in roof, "Mr Johnson is asking that the city try harder to contain the Animae, but city officials agree that the Animae are not to be interfered with.”<br/>
The shot changed again; police body cam footage of a group of officers brandishing guns at someone whose mask declared their allegiance to the Greenmasks. One officer pulled the trigger, and the person vanished a second before the bullet hit them.<br/>
“An official statement from Gold City’s own Mayor Ruiz has stated ‘The smartest thing for us to do is wait until the Animae’s fighting ends, then rebuild the Gavaldon District once they’ve cleared out. We promise, if we can find the true identities of any of the Animae, they will be charged for the damage they have caused.’”<br/>
Sophie noted how most of the footage they showed was the Snake District in the daylight. There was no footage taken after sunset, and definitely none with real Animae fighting. Glimpses in the sunlight was about all the public had access to. The only way to learn more would be to somehow sneak into the Snake District and sit through a whole fight without getting caught or hurt, or to…<br/>
Join the Animae.<br/>
Sophie winced, but deep inside she knew she could if she wanted to.<br/>
“While the outcome of that case may not be certain,” the reporter said, recapturing Sophie’s attention, “one thing is: this week’s bright and sunny weather. Here now with the weekly forecast is–”<br/>
Groaning, Sophie turned her back to the TV as heavy footsteps echoed through the room.<br/>
“Honey, is my food ready yet?” bellowed her father, Stefan. Jacob wrapped his arms around Stefan’s legs — even though Jacob was tall for his age, he couldn’t beat Stefan’s six-foot-two stance. Stefan laughed and patted Jacob on the back, then sauntered over to Honey, scratching his long beard, “Do you know how hungry I am?”<br/>
Honey squealed as Stefan pulled her close to him, smothering her with kisses. Don’t they realize she’s pretty much a foot taller than he is, Sophie wondered.<br/>
Behind them, Adam and Jacob clamoured a synchronised “Eew”.<br/>
“Dad, can you not?” Sophie complained.<br/>
Stefan let out a sigh and released Honey, “Well, where’s the food?”<br/>
“It’s already on the table,” Honey plopped down and started handing dishes around. Meanwhile Stefan fell into his own seat — making the ground shake enough you’d swear it registered on the Richter scale — and Jacob and Adam climbed into their seats.<br/>
As the boys shouted for food, Sophie held off — it was better to wait for them to settle down before she tried going in. She looked up at Honey, shaking her head as Adam dug into a pork rib, until something behind Honey caught her eye.<br/>
A picture. Sophie was in it — twelve, with boring hair and giant teeth — and Stefan was too, only clean-shaven and a bit younger. But what struck Sophie the most were the three people in the picture who weren’t here anymore. The first, a woman with hair dyed blond and one arm around Stefan, grinned at Sophie with an oversized smile Sophie sadly had inherited. Sophie felt a bittersweet pang in her heart as the woman’s name filled her mind: Vanessa. Her mother.<br/>
Sophie glanced at the second, and her eyes narrowed: Callista Nunez. Her toothy smile and bugged-out eyes made her look innocent, but Sophie knew better. Sophie let out a huff and moved on to the third. Her anger vanished.<br/>
The girl was four inches taller than Sophie, with black hair cut just above her chin, light brown skin, and a giant hoodie concealing her thin figure. Her smile was carefree, her arm thrown around Sophie as if the girls had nothing to worry about.<br/>
Aggie.<br/>
The Sophie in the photograph had no idea how things would change just a year later.<br/>
“Sophie?” Her eyes shifted to Honey, who offered her the pork platter, “Are you okay?”<br/>
Sophie took a deep breath. “Yeah. I just…”<br/>
Honey traced her eyes to the photo, and they locked with Vanessa’s. “Oh, here,” She reached behind her and tipped the photo over, “That any better?”<br/>
Shaking her head, Sophie reached over and grabbed a biscuit.<br/>
“Well, my mother always said that when things are getting you down, food will always make you feel better,” Honey stretched over the table and rubbed Sophie’s shoulder, “Cheer up, kiddo. It’ll get better soon.”<br/>
Sophie swallowed, then took a deep breath, “I sure hope so.”</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. DATE NIGHT</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>The next day at the gym, Sophie noticed Tedros standing next to the door, leaning against the shaded window and scanning the nearby crowd for someone. His eyes caught Sophie’s, and he smiled.<br/>
Her heart fluttered.</p><p>Every day for the next week, Tedros waited for Sophie just like that. He held the door open for her when she went inside, then accompanied her during her workout, striking up conversations all the while - about parents, about annoying friends, even, surprisingly, about money problems. Like most people, Sophie thought rich kids didn’t have money problems, just more money than they knew how to manage. However, Tedros explained how he worried about being selfish with every dollar he spent, and tried to give away and spend an equal amount. Sophie thought back to all the allowance she’d ever spent at beauty stores and cringed — Tedros had more than triple everything in her college fund, had more generosity than she did. Wow. Ten points to Sophie.<br/>
At the end of their workouts, Tedros would always walk Sophie out and tell her, “See you tomorrow.” He’d watch Sophie as she walked out and only smiled when she glanced back. Then Sophie would whip out her phone and call Nic as soon as she was out of Tedros’s view, and Nic always demanded to hear every single detail about the workout, no matter how unromantic or mundane it had been.<br/>
So on the seventh day, when the workouts had gone to routine for the past week, Sophie was surprised when Tedros didn’t say a word for the first fifteen minutes.<br/>
“Hey, are you good?” she’d asked him during their warmup. He barely nodded before glancing away, both without smiling.<br/>
Obviously that wasn’t good enough for Sophie, so she asked again a few minutes later. His response hadn’t changed. She checked one more time, now adding a “You sure?”, but he reacted the same way every single time.<br/>
Finally, in the middle of a set of squats, Sophie stopped and leaned against the wall, crossing her arms. “Okay, we’ve been here for a while, but you haven’t said a single thing this whole time. Why aren’t you talking to me?”<br/>
Tedros said nothing, but he stopped, bending over and placing his hands on his knees.<br/>
Sophie frowned at him. “Tedros?”<br/>
He sighed, straightening up. “I’m sorry. It’s just a- a headache.”<br/>
“Oh,” Sophie mumbled. “B- but if you have a headache, then why are you exercising? Isn’t that- ”<br/>
“It’ll wear off soon.” He waved her off. “Besides, I’m used to it.”<br/>
“Okay, uh … sorry.” Sophie scratched her head. “Is anything else wrong?”<br/>
“Um.” Tedros bit his lip. “I just wanted to ask if you… were willing to go … to the mall with me.”<br/>
The wind flew out of Sophie’s lungs: Oh my God, he asked me. It took a second for the thought to actually register in her brain, and then her breath returned and she burst into laughter.<br/>
Tedros’s face saddened. “Sorry, I  just– ”<br/>
“No, don’t be!” Sophie’s laughter died out. “I think I’m just in shock or something.”<br/>
“So, do you want to come with me? Because if not -”<br/>
“Of course I do!” Sophie shook her head. “God, Tedros. I thought you’d never ask.”<br/>
“Okay, good. I thought you’d say you weren’t into guys or something.”<br/>
“Oh. No, I’m … yeah.” Sophie fingered her phone in her back pocket –  would it be rude to text Nic right now?<br/>
“Cool.” Tedros took a breath and wrung his hands. “You know, before you came along, I never had trouble asking girls out.”<br/>
Sophie looked up. “Huh? That can’t be right.”<br/>
“No, it’s true. I used to just go up and ask them without hesitating, but you … I don’t know. I think it might be because you’re the first girl I really liked since …” Something crossed Tedros’s face - hurt? Longing?<br/>
“Since what?” Sophie prodded gently.<br/>
He shook his head. “Never mind.”<br/>
Sophie sighed. “Maybe I’m the first girl you asked out without drinking a ton of ‘punch’ at a party,” she muttered.<br/>
Tedros laughed quietly. “Yeah, that’s it.”<br/>
Surprised, she glanced over at him, eyes wide. He just shrugged.<br/>
“Yeah, whatever.” A smile broke out on her face, and she drove a fist into his shoulder, trying not to hit him too hard. “So are we gonna get back to working out or what?”<br/>
“Ow.” Tedros winced and rubbed his shoulder. “You punch hard.”<br/>
And there went her attempt to hit him lightly. “Sorry. Now, come on. I plan on staying here for at least another hour and I’m not going to stand around the entire time.”<br/>
“Okay, but …” Tedros sighed, resuming his squats. “When do you want to go to the mall?”<br/>
“We have time to figure it out,” Sophie said with nonchalance, even though she was screaming inside.</p><p> </p><p>“He asked you out?” Nic squealed, bouncing up and down on Sophie’s bed and wrinkling her previously ironed flamingo-colored sheets.<br/>
“Nic, shut up!” Sophie hissed, squeezing the pillow in her arms tighter. “My dad is going to hear you and freak out like he always does whenever someone even looks at me.”<br/>
“Okay, fine,” Nic said, quieter this time. “But- Tedros Elliott?” She pushed a curl of mocha-colored hair out of her face. “I swear, if you start dating him, you’re literally going to be famous. All the news channels are going to air stories about you, like, every single day. ‘Today, Tedros Elliott and his girlfriend, the beautiful Sophie Taylor, attended a gala at – ‘“<br/>
Sophie smushed Nic’s face into a nearby pillow, pushing her glasses off her petite nose. She let out a distressed mumble, but Sophie didn’t listen:<br/>
“All we’re doing is hanging out at the mall, and that’s it. He’s probably going to buy some food or new clothes and pay more attention to them than he does to me.”<br/>
Nic straightened up and realigned her glasses. “Soph, listen to me. He asked you out to the mall and you think he’s not gonna pay attention to you at all? Your self-esteem needs some serious work.”<br/>
Sophie groaned and began to fluff the pillows they’d messed up.<br/>
Behind her, Nic continued, “Okay, so when is this mall date of yours?”<br/>
“In about... “ Sophie glanced at a clock on her nightstand. “… Four hours and forty-two minutes.”<br/>
“Oh my God, there’s less than five hours remaining until your date and you haven’t even started getting ready?” Nic gasped. “What’s happened to you? I thought your mantra was ‘start getting ready for a date at least six hours before.’”<br/>
“I’m going to shove you into the pillows again,” Sophie threatened, now smoothing out the wrinkles in her bedspread.<br/>
Nic sighed. “So, you’re having pre-date jitters or something, right?”<br/>
“No,” Sophie said quickly.<br/>
Her friend arched an eyebrow at her.<br/>
“Okay, fine. I am kind of freaking out, but … I just wanted you here because I have no idea what to wear.”<br/>
A second passed. Then Nic burst into laughter. “You want fashion advice? From me? Is this some kind of joke? I should be asking you for advice –  I mean, I just wear flannels and ripped jeans all the time.”<br/>
“I know, but … I just need your opinion.” Sophie started rifling through her closet. “Tedros is probably going to show up in something that cost more than my entire closet, and I don't want to look like walking trash next to him.”<br/>
“Just wear the nicest thing you have or something! I don’t know.”<br/>
“Really?” Sophie pulled out the item Nic advised she should wear – a tiny, bright pink dress covered in ruffles and glitter.<br/>
Nic winced. “Okay. Forget that. What do you think you should wear?”<br/>
“I don’t know!” Sophie shoved the dress back and started digging again. “Everything I wear is from the discount section of Forever 21. If Tedros knows I only have clothes that were on sale, he’s going to leave me so fast.”<br/>
“That can’t be true.”<br/>
“Nic, he’s rich. What do you know about how rich people behave?”<br/>
“What do you know about how rich people behave?”<br/>
“More than you,” Sophie groused, throwing a purple sweater at her friend.<br/>
“Hey, this one isn’t bad.” Nic said, prying it from her face and holding it at arm’s length.<br/>
“No way. If I wear that, I’m going to spend the entire date scratching myself.”<br/>
Nic sighed. “So why don’t you go out and buy a new outfit for tonight?”<br/>
“If I buy a new outfit, I won’t have any money for the mall later.” Sophie pulled out a pair of jeans, looked them over, and tossed them onto the bed in disgust.<br/>
“Don’t pass these over.” Nic crawled over to the jeans. “They’re the nicest pair you own.”<br/>
“I’m not wearing jeans to a date!”<br/>
“Okay, let me see.” The glasses-wearing girl stood up and pushed her way to the closet, rifled through for a minute, then pulled out a red corduroy dress. “This looks fine.”<br/>
“No, it doesn’t!” Sophie snatched the dress and held it up to herself in the mirror. “It’s just not right–  ”<br/>
“Okay, Soph, you’re freaking out. Calm down.” Nic took the dress out of her friend’s hands and guided her back to the bed. “The date is going to be great, no matter what you wear.”<br/>
Steaming, Sophie plunked down. “It’s not- ”<br/>
“Sophie.”<br/>
“Okay.” The blonde one shook her head. “You’re right, I guess. This dress is … fine.”<br/>
“It’s more than fine.” Nic grinned. “I picked it, anyway.”<br/>
“But what about …” Sophie turned towards the vanity in the corner of her room, topped by a polished mirror and several piles of bins and organizers holding every type of makeup imaginable.<br/>
“Sophie.” Nic turned her friend’s face back to her. “I told you to relax. Don’t even think about makeup right now.”<br/>
The nervous girl sighed and crashed down onto the bed. “Easy for you to say. You don’t even wear makeup.”<br/>
“Try not wearing any for a day. It’s empowering.”<br/>
“It would just freak me out.”<br/>
“Yeah, yeah, whatever.” Nic cocked her head. “Hey, since you have your outfit chosen and I just got here, how about we watch something on Netflix? I haven’t seen the To All the Boys I Loved Before sequel yet.”<br/>
“I don’t have time for Netflix, I have to start getting ready soon!”<br/>
“You have five and a half hours.”<br/>
“And, like you mentioned, I usually start getting ready six hours before, so I have to get a move on.” Sophie stood and started wandering through her room.<br/>
“Thirty minutes of Gilmore Girls,” Nic bargained.<br/>
Sophie glanced over, hesitated for a second, then sighed. “Okay, fine. Thirty minutes, but that’s all I can do. Otherwise I'm going to be late.``<br/>
Nic shrugged. “You’ll manage.”</p><p> </p><p>Sophie ended up arriving at the mall fifteen minutes after she was supposed to be there.<br/>
Letting out a string of curses, she sprinted through the food court. She jumped onto an escalator, skipped steps until some oversized dude blocked her, then rushed to the fountain in the middle of the mall. Tedros sat next to it, scrolling through his phone and looking pretty dismal. Sophie cursed one last time before approaching him.<br/>
“I am so sorry,” she panted, then sat down next to him. “My stupid friend distracted me with Netflix - and– and then– ”<br/>
“Sophie, it’s fine.” Tedros sighed and put his phone away. “Hey, you look nice.”<br/>
Blushing, Sophie gave a quiet thank you to Nic. “Thanks. You too.”<br/>
He glanced down at his expensive jeans. “Uh, thanks … so where do you want to go first?”<br/>
Sophie shrugged. “I don’t know.”<br/>
“Well …” Tedros scanned the mall around them, then pointed at a nearby Wetzel’s Pretzels. “Do you wanna split a pretzel or something?”<br/>
“Please,” Sophie sighed.<br/>
Tedros laughed quietly and stood, offering her a hand. “Come on.”<br/>
For the next hour, Sophie and Tedros raced around the mall, dragging each other into random shops without really thinking. He bought a pair of sneakers for $500 (that literally made Sophie’s mouth drop wide open) while she got two giant bath bombs and a new tube of lipstick for under $20. The whole time, they talked about the most random things, such as their music tastes and favorite vines. Neither one minded, especially Sophie, who honestly thought it was the best date she’d ever been on. Eventually Sophie found herself laughing harder than she had in years as Tedros pulled her past shopfronts, boutiques, candy stores …<br/>
Until Tedros stopped.<br/>
Sophie’s laughter died out, and she glanced over at Tedros, watching as his grin faded. “Hey, what …” she began before following his gaze.<br/>
He’d been staring at the TVs in the storefront window of an electronics store. They all played the same channel –  a newscast with a headline reading: “The Animae: Who Are They Really?” Sophie almost snorted –  it would take a miracle for someone to find out who exactly the Animae were. Pretty much everything they knew boiled down to a few details: they had superpowers, supposedly the origin of said powers had something to do with the (mostly) animal name aliases they used, there were two main groups defined by mask colors. These two groups had pretty much taken over the Snake District, where they spent almost every night locked in a mysterious battle with each other, and the few attempts to interfere in this battle did not end up well.<br/>
Sophie pulled herself out of the introspection and refocused on the actual news story. While she couldn’t hear what the reporter was saying, she could see what they played on the screen — shaky cellphone video of an Animae fight. Sophie had forgotten about this video. It featured some short Greenmask dude — Wolf, possibly — fighting a Goldmask dressed in all black; most likely Vampire. As she watched, the Greenmask started to gain the upper hand, until someone with brown feathered wings dipped down to pick him up off the ground and swept into the sky.<br/>
Eagle. The Goldmasks’ leader, easily one of the most famous Animae.<br/>
Voices buzzed around Sophie and she snapped back to reality. Meanwhile Tedros kept staring at the TV, lips pressed tightly together. Sophie waved a hand in front of his face. “Tedros. Earth to Tedros. Are you there?”<br/>
Tedros blinked, then looked up at her. “What? Oh, sorry, I got … distracted.”<br/>
“Yeah, that’s fine.” Sophie grabbed his hand. “So where to next?”<br/>
Tedros pulled a wad of cash out of his packet. “I still have a lot of cash. You want anything from See’s?”<br/>
“Oh, my God, I haven’t been there in forever.” Sophie started pulling Tedros away from the shop front. “Well, come on, then. I’m hungry!”<br/>
Tedros laughed and let her pull him along.</p><p> </p><p>“Hey, Sophie, it’s your dad. Um, Adam’s been having problems with his Kumon thing and I have to help him, so I’m not going to be able to pick you up from the mall tonight. But you can get yourself an Uber or something, right? So make sure you don’t blow all your money tonight. All right, enjoy the mall. Bye.”<br/>“Oh, my God, you’re kidding me!” Sophie groaned, slamming down on the home button before jamming her phone into her backpack. “You’re the only person who can take me home right now, but you have to help your stepson with his math homework because that’s so much more important. And I didn’t even know about this until after Tedros left, so I can’t ask him for a ride. Wow, this is some freaking …” <br/>Sighing, she stared out at the giant street stretching in front of her, hoping Nic would appear in her Volkswagen bug like an angel descending from the sky — that didn’t happen. Instead a billion cars sped past her, making her feel like she wasn’t even there. Meanwhile every windshield, every window, everything she saw reflected the setting sun into Sophie’s eyes and cast a golden glow over the city — a glow that compelled the town’s first settlers to name it Gold City. As the city grew, it took its name to the next level, populating the city with gold streetlamps and gold cars and gold … everything. Skyscraper District, however famous, always seemed too flashy for Sophie’s taste. She preferred her home, the Apartment District — muted colors, yellow and brown along with gold. Balance and all that. <br/>The mall was still a few miles away from the district containing her home - ten minutes by car, but Sophie didn’t have any way to reach a car right now.<br/>She let out a groan as she pulled up Google Maps on her phone, then found a route from here to her apartment. There was one that would take her forty-five minutes if she walked fast, but it took her through some of the darker parts of the Skyscraper District. Well, she’d still be miles clear of the Snake District, and if anyone even tried anything on her, she was definitely strong enough to take them on. <br/>So she began winding through tall buildings, watching as they grew more disgruntled, continuing even after twilight settled over the town. Unfortunately, this turned clearly defined buildings into black on more black, forcing Sophie to turn on the flashlight on her phone, which literally made her a glowing target. Most Animae had two superhuman abilities; why couldn’t Sophie have night vision? It would help a lot right now —<br/>Out of the corner of her eye, she saw something dart out of the light. She hesitated, then turned around and pointed the light at it.<br/>Nothing. <br/>She took a few steps forwards. Swept the beam over her entire surroundings. Nothing there. <br/>Maybe she was just being paranoid …<br/>“Sophie,” a voice whispered. <br/>She almost dropped her phone. <br/>That voice… she hadn’t heard it recently, but it gave her strong deja vu. Either way, she couldn’t recognize the speaker. Muttering a curse, she tightened her grip on the phone, then glanced around one last time. Still nothing, but she wasn’t convinced. <br/>“Hello?” she called.<br/>Silence. <br/>“Come on,” Sophie urged, swinging the phone around. “I’m going to be really mad if I’m just crazy.”<br/>A moment passed, then a footstep echoed through the alleyway. Then another.<br/>It continued. Sophie turned toward the source, pointing the beam at it. She didn’t see anything at first, but she pushed further … further … <br/>Something appeared — green scales glinting under the light.<br/>Sophie’s heart stopped. <br/>Hands shaking, she pointed her phone so it revealed the person’s full figure —  an androgynous body covered in reptilian green scales all the way up to their head. They levitated three feet off the ground, hands spread in a powerful pose, and stared down at Sophie with cold green eyes.  <br/>This time she actually dropped her phone. <br/>“Sn — Snake.”</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Hey everyone! First, thank you for 4 kudoses (I take what I can get, y'know). And if you haven't already, please check out @pumpkinpaperweight's trailer made for the Big Bang at https://www.tumblr.com/blog/rebelcracker-sge. It's really cool!</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0003"><h2>3. REVELATION</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>“Sophie Taylor,” Snake mused, landing softly on the ground. “It’s nice to see you.”<br/>Their voice wasn’t anything like what Sophie expected.<br/>High and soft — feminine — and flutelike, without the extended “s” sound snakes always had in cartoons. Somewhat young, but with an edge to it, like someone who’d been through far more than other people at that age. And … Sophie kept on thinking she’d heard this voice before, that she and Snake had met before. Which they hadn’t. No Animae ever had their voice recorded, so how did — <br/>“You seem confused.” Snake’s lips twitched. <br/>Sophie glanced up at the Animae. A second later, her “fight” response kicked in and her hands balled into fists. “What — what do you want?”<br/>“I know you’ve been seeing that Tedros Elliott recently.” Snake took a few slow steps, beginning to circle around the other girl.<br/>“You’re …” Sophie hesitated. “You’re here to talk to me about my relationship choices?”<br/>Snake made a sound that sounded a bit like a dry chuckle. “No. I just wanted to tell you that it’s not good for you to be with him.”<br/>“Why not?” <br/>“You don’t even think he’s a tiny bit suspicious? The headaches ... the refusal to tell you if he’s Animae … all of that never bothered you.” She came around Sophie’s side and stared into her eyes. “You didn’t ask why those things happened?”<br/>“No, I didn’t,” Sophie said, even though Snake’s bringing it up did make her feel a bit uncertain. “They’re not good reasons to be suspicious.”<br/>“Are you sure?”<br/>“Okay, listen to me.” Sophie turned to face Snake, who stopped and watched the first girl, green eyes shining with intrigue.<br/>“I'm just trying to get home,” Sophie continued, “and then you showed up and started trying to make me suspicious of my own boyfriend. I don’t care if you’re a famous supervillain or whatever, just let me pass in peace. If you don’t, I swear I won’t hesitate to take you on.”<br/>“Hmm.” Snake took one step towards Sophie. “It’s been a while since someone who wasn’t Animae actually threatened me. Even though there’s no chance that anyone, Animae or otherwise, could actually defeat me … I didn‘t realize how much I’ve missed your spunk.”<br/>Sophie frowned. “You missed … my- ”<br/>“I’m not here to fight, though. I only hurt or kill someone if I have a solid reason,. and you haven’t given me one yet.”<br/>“Is this supposed to make me like you more?” Sophie muttered. <br/>“No. It’s much easier to be feared than liked.” Was it just Sophie, or was Snake getting … taller? No, wait - she was rising. Her feet brushed the ground before lifting off, and when she stopped, she floated about four feet off the ground, her eyes burning in anger. “Stay away from Tedros Elliott, or you’ll go to the grave with him.”<br/>“How do you know Tedros?”<br/>Snake’s face softened. ‘We go back … but not as far as you and I, though.”<br/>“We— ” Sophie’s eyes widened, then narrowed again. “We know each other?” <br/>“We were close a very long time ago. I was naive back then, though. Thought I could just hide my abilities and that would solve all my problems.”<br/>Sophie blinked. “Who are you?” <br/>“Do you really want to know? I take special care that the people who know my real name are unable to share that secret, one way or another. For example …” Snake’s eyes stayed locked on Sophie’s face, but her eyes filled with vulnerability.<br/>“For example, what?” Sophie prodded.<br/>After a moment, Snake shook her head. ”I don’t want to meet you like this again. Stay away from Tedros, and I’ll stay away from you.” Slowly, she made her descent back to the ground. “Understand?”<br/>Sophie picked up her phone and gripped it tight. “And what happens if I don’t? Is having a boyfriend a good excuse for you to hurt me?”<br/>“No.” The corners of Snake’s mouth teased up slightly. “You stand and watch as the boy you love dies. And you won’t be able to do anything.”<br/>“Really?” A small tingle filled Sophie’s throat — not painful, only some sort of side effect to the courage building inside her. She took a breath and stepped forward so she only stood a few inches away from Snake. “Powerless or not, if you try to kill Tedros, I would fight you. I’m a heck of a lot stronger than you think. And you can’t hold me back.”<br/>Snake cocked her head. “Are you sure?”<br/>Sophie straightened up to her full height, drawing in a breath to retort. “I-”<br/>Her lungs stopped. <br/>Not out of shock, but of some invisible force seizing control. It took over her entire body and froze every organ inside her — she couldn’t blink, couldn’t move, couldn’t even feel her own heart beating. She could only wait as death drew closer and closer, as this force brought her life to an early end … <br/>“I control minds, Sophie,” Snake sneered, hand outstretched. “I can make your brain stop working. You won’t be able to move. You can’t save yourself.”<br/>Her fist clenched. The force inside Sophie vanished and she dropped to her knees, gasping for breath. <br/>“Do you really want to try your luck against that?” Snake asked. <br/>Sophie glared up at her. If she hadn’t just almost died, she’d be charging Snake right now, seeing just how she had become. Meanwhile the tingling in her throat grew stronger, stronger, begging her to unleash it. Sophie kept it inside — she wasn’t about to challenge Snake’s brain-stopping power with some feeling she knew nothing about.<br/>“Good.” Snake turned away. “Also, please don‘t tell anyone about this. Especially not Tedros.”<br/>She rose again and vanished into the dark, leaving Sophie alone on the ground with too many questions to count.</p><p> </p><p>Sophie spent the rest of the way home mumbling and cursing, and continued to do so even when she slammed into her apartment the next day. Snake showed up in front of her. To warn her to stay away from Tedros. And then revealed that the two had history. And then tried to kill her.<br/>Holy … <br/>Her purse tumbled out of her hands. Sophie cursed under her breath, kicked off her shoes, and stomped towards her room. As she reached the stairs, she wondered if she’d be able to get back to her room without anyone bothering her. Adam and Jacob would be in bed now — their bedtime was about an hour ago — while Stefan and Honey would probably be engrossed in some TV show. So hopefully no one would —<br/>“Sophie, is that you?” her dad called from the living room.<br/>She let out a groan and stopped. “What?”<br/>“Could you come here, please?”<br/>A second passed, then Sophie let out a groan and stomped back down the stairs. In the living room, Stefan and Honey sat on the couch, both staring at Sophie with disappointed faces. Sophie cringed — what did she do?<br/>Frowning, Stefan pulled out his phone and showed it to her. “Explain this, please.”<br/>The phone showed an article from the city’s local newspaper, entitled “Who Is Tedros Elliott‘s New Girlfriend?” Just below the headline, a photo flaunted a picture of Tedros at the mall, smiling dumbly as he held hands with a blond girl wearing a red dress — herself.<br/>Sophie groaned. Again. “Dad, I went to the mall with a friend. Nothing else happened. <br/>“A friend? Well, according to this, you and this Tedros are more than friends.”<br/>“It’s just gossip, Dad! Come on– ”<br/>“So I guess you have a reason for coming home after dark, too?”<br/>“I– I– Dad, you bailed on giving me a ride and just sent me a voicemail!” Sophie almost shouted. “I didn’t even notice it until — until after I left the mall. What was I supposed to do?”<br/>“Um, get an Uber! Or call your friend Nicola, or even Honey.” Stefan rose, a tic in his forehead pulsing. “How did you get home, anyways?”<br/>“I ... “ Sophie let out a huff.. “I just walked home. But I was fine, I— ”<br/>“Sophie Taylor!” Stefan shouted, loud enough to wake up the entire Apartment District. “You go out with a boy without telling me, and then you walk home, alone, in the dark? That’s it. You’re not responsible enough to do this any longer. You’re grounded.”<br/>“What?” Sophie cried, “You can’t — I didn’t even do anything!”<br/>“Stefan …” Honey began.<br/>“Honey, let me handle this,” Stefan growled. “Sophie, either you figure out how to be more responsible when you go out alone or you never do it again. Now– ”<br/>“Dad?”<br/>Sophie turned to see Adam and Jacob standing at the top of the stairs in their pajamas, both rubbing their eyes. “What’s happening?” Jacob mumbled.<br/>“Boys, it’s okay.” Honey stood and began herding them back up the stairs. “Go back to bed. You too, Sophie, it seems like it’s been a long night for you.”<br/>“Honey– ” Stefan groaned.<br/>“Stefan,” Honey sighed. “Sophie had to walk home in the dark tonight. She must be tired, and I think it’s best if you let her go to sleep. Whatever punishment you want to give her … if she even deserves one … can wait until morning.”<br/>Stefan considered this for a moment, then sighed and flopped back on the couch. “Fine. We’ll talk about this again tomorrow.” <br/>“Okay.” Honey made her way up the stairs, with Sophie, Jacob and Adam following behind. <br/>Sophie’s footsteps lightened — she had a lot going on in her head, but thanks to Honey, worrying about her dumb dad and getting grounded wasn’t one of them. Once she hit the top of the staircase, she whispered, “Thanks, Honey.”<br/>Honey winked at her stepdaughter, then turned around and headed to the boys’ room.</p><p> </p><p>After a restless night, Sophie woke up to an invitation from Tedros to go out with him again. Boba this time, one of his favorite places in the city. Sophie accepted without caring if she was actually grounded or not. Heck, she didn’t even care if Snake would show up and try to kill her again — first, Animae never came out during the daytime, and second, you only live once and all that. However, once she actually got there, she couldn’t actually focus or enjoy it — her mind was still on the encounter with Snake. She only sipped on her drink and tried to hide her grumpiness while her mind struggled to sort through the previous day’s conversation.<br/>“Sophie? You okay?” <br/>Forget the whole ‘“hiding her grumpiness” thing. Sophie looked up at Tedros, who drank his own “Gold City Mango” special tea. She looked back down at her own tea and lied, “Fine.”<br/>He sighed. “You sure? You don’t look fine.”<br/>“I feel terrific,” Sophie muttered.<br/>“Well, your tone suggests otherwise.” Tedors scooted a few inches closer to her. “Listen, I just want to know what’s up. You don‘t have to tell me everything.”<br/>“I have nothing to say.”<br/>“Oh, come on. When I was being quiet during our workout a few days ago, I told you why. Why can’t you do the same?”<br/>“You just said you had a headache.” Sophie’s eyes narrowed. “There were no other details.”<br/>He frowned. “It was a headache. What are you talking about?”<br/>Sophie sighed. “Sorry, I– it’s just– ” She took another sip of her drink, trying to avoid conversation.<br/>“Hey.” Tedros laid a hand on top of hers. “Whatever it is, you can tell me.”<br/>She drew back. “How can we tell each other things like that if we’re not being completely honest with each other?”<br/>Tedros’s mouth dropped open. “I– I’m not- ” He looked down, never finishing his sentence.<br/>“That’s what I keep saying,” Sophie muttered. <br/>They sat in silence for a while. Sophie snuck a glance at his face — he looked tired, defeated. Maybe her truth had cut into him harder than she’d meant it to.<br/>“I’m sorry,” she said quietly.<br/>“It’s fine,” Tedros replied, even quieter than her. <br/>“No, it’s not.” Sophie stood and grabbed her drink. “I’m just … Something happened yesterday— ”<br/>“Was it the mall?” Tedros sighed loudly. “I knew it.”<br/>“No, it wasn’t the mall. It was something else after.” Sophie took a breath and turned away. “Anyways, I’m really confused, and … I think I need some time.” Tedros’s chair scraped on the ground. “Sophie, wait -”<br/>“I should go,” she mumbled.<br/>“Don’t go. Whatever happened, I can -”<br/>“Tedros. I need to go.”<br/>He didn’t say anything after that. Sophie sighed and walked out of the shop, throwing her drink in the trash as she passed. Part of her wanted to look back at Tedros, but she held back. <br/>With her luck, this would probably be the last time they went out together.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0004"><h2>4. BREAKUP</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>At that point, Sophie only wanted to lay on her bed. She was too depressed to watch Netflix or spend time with other people. And she was dangerously close to grabbing the first carton of ice cream she’d be digging a spoon into in several years. <br/>Snake had told Sophie to stay away from her new boyfriend, but unknown to her, Sophie had gone to see him the very next day. And guess what happened during that meetup? She basically invited him to break up with her. And they’d only been together for a few days!<br/>She liked Tedros a lot, and she still did. And now, after only two days, it was over. Soon enough, the world would completely forget about her and focus on Tedros’s next girlfriend. Obviously Stefan would be ecstatic. Sophie, on the other hand, wouldn’t be.<br/>How stupid. She’d ruined this all by herself. He was only trying to help her, to make things better, and she’d just pushed him away. Then she started pointing fingers at him, drawing suspicion to herself in her process. As far as she knew, Tedros could have figured out she was Animae and tried to sell that information or something — there were plenty of people on the Internet who swore they would do that if they ever had the opportunity. Next Snake would probably start searching for her, knowing Sophie refused to heed her warning, and then … what? Kill Sophie? Or would Snke force her to watch Tedros die like she’d threatened to do during their meeting?<br/>That couldn't happen. Sophie wouldn't let it.<br/>But what was she supposed to do? Tedros probably wouldn’t want to see her now. Even if she told Tedros, she didn’t know how he’d react. She couldn’t tell her dad or Nic or anyone else, either. And she didn’t think she’d be able to figure things out on her own. She didn’t know anything about Snake, the Animae, or any of that.<br/>All she knew was that she couldn’t give up, <br/>But where was she supposed to start? What should she do first —<br/>The front door of her room creaked open, shaking the fairy lights strung on it. Honey poked her head in and smiled at Sophie, showing off dark lipstick. “Am i interrupting anything?”<br/>“Oh, uh … no, you’re fine.” Sophie sat down and cleared a spot for Honey to sit. She did, a good distance away from Sophie. <br/>“Are you doing okay?” Honey asked.<br/>“Fine,” Sophie said, staring at the ceiling as she messed with her earrings. <br/>“If you want me to leave, I can.” <br/>“No, you don’t have to,” Sophie sighed. “So what‘s up?”<br/>“Well,. I convinced your dad to lift your grounding.”<br/>Sophie drew in a deep breath. “Oh, thank you, thank you, thank you!”<br/>“But,” Honey warned. “You’re on probation. If you slip up again, Stefan will ground you, and I won’t be able to stop him.”<br/>Sophie sighed. “Well, you can tell him if he’s worried about me being with Tedros, he can relax. It's over.” <br/>”Oh… “ Honey’s eyebrows drew together in sympathy. “You didn’t have to end it because of your father.”<br/>“I didn't. I would never do that. It’s just …” She turned away.<br/>“Did he do something to you?”<br/>“No! I - No, it’s not him. It’s … me. I don’t think I’m good enough for him.”<br/>“That can’t be right.” Honey brushed a loose strand of hair from Sophie‘s face. Vanessa used to do that when she was younger. Only Vanessa always seemed to graze her fingernails against Sophie’s cheek, making her wince. However, Honey used her fingertips, which felt far softer than it did when Vanessa did it. <br/>“Do you want to talk about it?” Honey continued.<br/>Sophie stiffened. “No.”<br/>“Okay. I understand.” Honey began to rub Sophie’s shoulder. ”I’m here for you, even if you don’t want to talk.”<br/>A moment passed. Sophie relaxed into the backrub, feeling some of the stress she’d been holding inside for the last seventeen hours melt away. Somehow that one action told her she still had time before things went too far.<br/>“ … Honey?”<br/>“Mmhmm?”<br/>“I need your advice. That thing … I don’t know what to do now.”<br/>“It would help if you told me what’s happening.”<br/>Sophie glanced away. “Honey… ”<br/>“Okay.” Honey took a breath. “I would say .. if you want Tedros to come back— ”<br/>“Not that,” Sophie snapped. <br/>Her stepmother paused for a moment before speaking again. “So … what is it?<br/>‘I can’t even understand by myself. I just have so many questions …”<br/>“Then find answers.” <br/>Sophie couldn’t say anything after that. She closed her eyes and leaned on Honey, who continued to stroke her. Sinking into the serenity, Sophie felt herself become eleven again, nestled in her mother’s arms, inhaling the smell of her lavender perfumes and face masks without knowing any of the worries she’d have in the future. Right now Sophie didn’t know what would happen next, but she knew what was happening now.<br/>A few minutes later, Jacob started wailing in the distance, and Honey gave Sophie one last pat and left to take care of him. Sprawled out on her bed, Sophie’s head started spinning again, and she tried taking a few deep breaths to calm herself down. It didn’t work. She racked her brain for Honey’s advice - <br/>Then find answers. <br/>Where was she supposed to —<br/>Oh.<br/>There was only one place on the entire planet where every known piece of information on the Animae lurked.</p><p> </p><p>A few minutes later, Sophie’s laptop whirred to life. She took a moment to admire the French countryside lockscreen her computer had conjured up for her, then clicked past it and opened Firefox. She opened up a search engine, struggled to type in the right command … <br/>Her bedroom door peeked open and Stefan stuck his head in. “Sophie?”<br/>Sophie dodged a news ad promoting an interview with Rafal Swann, that billionaire who ran his company from Gold City, and mumbled, “What, Dad?”<br/>Stefan hesitated, leaning against the doorframe. “Listen, I … I came to apologize. What I did last night was wrong, and… ”<br/>“Dad, I get it. It was late.” Sophie pushed “enter” again. groaning as her computer froze in response.<br/>“I wanted to let you know— ”<br/>“Hey. I appreciate it, but I’m a bit busy. Do you mind?”<br/>Stefan sighed — Sophie winced, hoping she hadn’t been too harsh. But then Stefan mumbled something resembling “Okay,” and he retreated.<br/>Sighing, Sophie pulled up the wiki articles on the Animae - fanmade articles with a collection of all known and speculated details on them. Sophie opened up Snake’s page and cringed at a fanart piece depicting Snake as a stereotypical comic book villain dude - muscles, glowing eyes, and a cruel smile. Holding up a hand to hide the piece from her vision, Sophie scrolled down and scanned the article for anything new she could absorb. Real name: unknown. Alliance: Greenmasks. Abilites: mind control, levitation. Sophie shuddered as she recalled her own experiences with them.<br/>After exiting the site, she looked up “snake animae identity theories.” Pulling up some chat site, she scrolled through a bunch of users listing people who they believed were Snake’s alter ego. However, each one she read cited some person she didn’t know, which couldn’t be right. And most of them had no solid evidence to prove their theories. <br/>How was she supposed to figure out who Snake was now?<br/>Sophie sighed, staring at the screen for a moment … and remembered something else. She scrolled to the top of the page, clicked on the search bar in the top right corner, and typed in, “tedros elliot animae.” She hit enter, waited for the results to load … <br/>Nothing. That didn’t help at all. <br/>Groaning, Sophie slammed her laptop and cringed, hoping she hadn’t accidentally broken it. Now she had no chance of getting answers, unless … <br/>Unless she asked Tedros. <br/>Well, how was she supposed to do that? Show up after that awful date and say, “Hi, on the way home from a mall date I got ambushed by Snake, who revealed that we know each other and then tried to kill me. Do you know anything about that? Oh, and also, might you be an Animae too?” <br/>Yeah. That would make for an awkward conversation. But she had to do something.<br/>Sophie grabbed her phone from her nightstand, opened her texting app and typed in Tedros’s number, which he’d given to her during one of their workouts a while ago. She typed in, “Hey can we talk?”, let her thumb hover over the Send button for a moment … and pushed it down.<br/>The phone made a whoosh sound and Sophie cried out, flopping onto her bed and pressing her phone to her chest. After a second she took one more look. He hadn’t seen it yet. <br/>“Please reply, please reply, please reply,” she mumbled, closing and reopening the app (as if that would do anything). She sighed and closed her eyes — she’d probably be waiting for a while.</p><p> </p><p>Sophie still found herself checking her phone two mornings after that. Obviously nothing had come in over the last few days, especially not from Tedros. She groaned and threw her phone onto the table, then picked up her fork and stabbed it into her plate hard enough to break it.<br/>Three people at the table turned to stare at her — a wide-eyed Honey and Adam and Jacob, both in the middle of chewing enormous bites of pancakes. Sophie cringed, feeling their stares.<br/>One, on the other hand, didn’t look up. Mouth full, Stefan reprimanded Sophie: “Be careful, kid. And you’re not allowed to have your phone at the table.”<br/>Sophie tried her best to hide her groan as she pushed her phone even farther away from herself, creating an enormous squeak from the case rubbing against the table.<br/>“Not on the table,” Stefan moaned, glaring daggers at it. “You can’t— ”<br/>“I’ll move it.” Honey reached for it, putting an end to Stefan’s lecture before it really began. <br/>“Oh,” Sophie mumbled. “Thanks.”<br/>She handed the phone to Honora, who placed it onto the counter. Sophie stared at the phone for a second, hoping it might buzz. Sadly, that didn’t happen, so she went back to staring at her own uneaten breakfast. Honey didn’t eat, either. But Stefan and the boys did. As if what was happening a few spots away was actually a whole world away.<br/>A few moments passed, then Adam finished a bite and whined, “Mom?” <br/>“Mmhmm?”<br/>“If you’re not going to eat your last waffle, can I have it?”<br/>“Jacob,” Stefan scolded. “Leave your mother alone.”<br/>“Is there any more?” Jacob interjected.<br/>Honey sighed. “Your father took the last one.”<br/>“Aww!” Jacob moaned, while Adam complained, “Come on, Dad.”<br/>Stefan shot a quick glare at Honey, then told the boys, “Well, you should have gotten more when we actually had more.”<br/>“Well…” Adam thought for a second. “If I can’t have Mom’s, can I have Sophie’s?”<br/>Everyone turned to look at her. Staring at her untouched food, she sunk down in her chair, hesitant. After a second, she laid down her fork and muttered, “Go ahead. I … I’m not hungry.”<br/>Cheering, Jacob and Adam reached for her plate — Honey put out a hand to stop them. “Sophie, are you sure?” she asked. “You haven’t eaten anything today.”<br/>After a second, Sophie pushed her plate away. ”I just don’t feel like eating today.”<br/>Honey began, “Is it- “ but Sophie silenced her with a sharp look.<br/>“Is it what?” Stefan glanced up.<br/>“Nothing,” Honey said quickly, then turned to the boys. “Go ahead, you two.”<br/>Adam and Jacob snatched Sophie’s waffles and started competing to see who could eat faster. Sophie only watched, face downcast. <br/>“Enjoy it, ‘cause there’s not going to be any more,” Stefan groused - probably mad there was extra and he didn’t get any. He noticed her staring in his direction and added, “Same to you, Sophie.”<br/>Sophie sighed — this wasn’t worth fighting over. Honey reached out and rubbed her arm in sympathy. Her eyes traveled around the room until they fell on the boys, who sat behind their empty plates. “At least put your stuff in the dishwasher,” she said, shooing them off.<br/>Jacob and Adam got up, dumped their plates in the sinks, then took one look at each other and started running upstairs. Honey glanced at the mess they left in the sink and started chasing after them, yelling, “Well, don’t expect me to take care of that for you!”<br/>Sophie sighed as her stepmother left, then stood to leave —<br/>“Sophie, wait,” Stefan said mid-bite.<br/>Hesitating, she looked down as she sunk into her seat. A second passed as she waited for her father to say something. <br/>That ended up being: “It’s not like you to skip breakfast. As far as I know, you haven’t done that since just after your mother died.”<br/>Sophie said nothing. She remembered that time — her mother was alive, vibrant, always pushing Sophie to get as close to perfection as she could … <br/>“Your mother used to do that all the time,” Stefan continued, waving his fork in the air. “You’d do it with her, too, when you were younger. I still remember what he used to say about it … ‘People who say that ‘breakfast is amazing …’ No. ‘People who lie that— ’”<br/>“People who say that ‘breakfast is the most important meal of the day’ just never have enough energy to make it through their morning,” Sophie finished quietly.<br/>Stefan only frowned at her. “What?”<br/>“That’s what she said.” Sophie’s voice quieted even more.<br/>Stefan paused, most likely trying to remember, then slowly nodded. ”Yeah. She did, didn’t she … Anyways, whatever’s wrong, I’m sorry about it.”<br/>“You don’t have to apologize, it’s not— ”<br/>“Don’t act like it’s not at least partially my fault,” Stefan groused.<br/>Sophie opened her mouth and closed it after a moment, unsure how to respond. She only bit her lip and watched as Stefan glared down at his feet, shoving an enormous bite of the waffle into his mouth. Uncomfortable, Sophie watched him chew and after a second blurted, “Do you still miss her?”<br/>Stefan frowned at her. “Your mother?” He swallowed, let out a sigh. “All the time.” <br/>“She wouldn’t have approved of either of our appetites nowadays,” Sophie remarked, staring at Stefan’s half-eaten pile of food.<br/>“Well, she wouldn’t have approved of either of our anything,” he replied. “That's how her death ruined us — we didn’t have her around anymore.”<br/>Sophie paused for a moment. “She was always hard on us. Harder than anyone I ever met. Sometimes I got really mad at her for it … I don’t know. Did you ever get mad?”<br/>“Not really. It’s what a mother does, Soph.”<br/>“But — but Honey doesn’t seem to be doing that for Adam and Jacob.”<br/>“Who are both young.”<br/>“Mom started ‘helping’ me from the day I turned five,” Sophie argued. “If it’s what a mother does, then Honey’s no good at it.” <br/>Stefan finished the last of his food and exhaled, setting down his fork.<br/>Another question emerged in Sophie’s mind — she looked down, uncertain about how to present it. After a moment’s hesitation, she leaned closer to him and whispered, “Dad … do you still think the court was right? About how Mom died?”<br/>Her father tensed, but he didn’t reply.<br/>“Please, Dad,” she urged.. “We haven’t talked about it recently at all.”<br/>“And it should stay that way,” Stefan muttered. When Sophie didn’t stop staring, he sighed and gave in. “Yes, I do. There wasn’t much evidence, but all of it suggests she committed suicide … forced suicide.”<br/>Sophie’s mouth opened slightly — her father had never admitted that out loud before. “But … Mom would have never— ”<br/>‘She didn’t. Like we discussed, she was forced to.” Stefan stands, his frown deepening.<br/>“But— ”<br/>“Sophie Taylor,” Stefan snapped. “We’re done talking about this.”<br/>He scooped up his diningware and stomped away from her, first to the kitchen to dump them into the sink, then into the living room. He plunked into his seat and turned on the TV, which pretty much translated to “Don’t talk to me.” Sophie sighed and slowly rose from the table, turned to slink back upstairs … <br/>Her phone buzzed. <br/>Hesitating, she glanced over at the counter, then walked over and lifted her phone. She could hear her own heart over the rumble of the family’s ancient dishwasher as she pressed the home button and read the text.<br/>Tedros. He texted, “Sorry, didn’t see this until now. What’s up?”<br/>The corners of Sophie’s mouth lifted up. She turned the phone off and shoved it into her pocket, glanced at her dad one last time, and headed upstairs so she could figure things out on her own.</p><p> </p><p>Obviously this wasn’t the sort of thing you could talk about through a series of texts. This conversation had to be done in person.<br/>Sophie chose one of her favorite spots: a park in the heart of the Skyscraper District — one filled with golden flowers, trimmed bushes and elegant fountains. Whenever she felt stressed, this was where she went. And it usually helped.<br/>Usually.<br/>This time, Sophie’s knee bounced up and down as she waited for Tedros. Why did the silence surrounding her, which once calmed her, now make her want to scream? She bit down on her lip, glancing from side to side … <br/>“Hey!” someone called, and Sophie turned to see Tedros jogging towards her. She tried her best to smile as he sat down next to her. <br/>“Listen, I’m sorry,” he began. “The last few days were really chaotic for me, and I never had time to read your text, and— ”<br/>“No, no. I should apologize to you,” Sophie interrupted. “I don’t know what happened when we went out for boba. I just kept saying things that weren’t true and …”<br/>“Sophie.” Tedros placed his hands on top of hers. “It’s fine. I don’t blame you … I haven’t been telling you everything.”<br/>He looked away. Sophie waited for him to say something else, but he didn’t.<br/>“Are you gonna tell me whatever it is you haven't said?” she prodded.<br/>Tedros hesitated. “I … Wait, is this what you were texting me to talk about? Because then you could have just— “<br/>“No, I texted you about something else… ” Sophie’s voice trailed off — she couldn’t bring herself to say it just yet. “Wait — are you trying to change the subject?”<br/>“Uh — no?”<br/>Sophie elbowed Tedros in the ribs. Very. Softly. She didn’t hear a crack, so she must have done it right. <br/>“Jeez!” he mumbled, rubbing his side (Come on, Sophie thought, I didn’t hit you that hard). “It’s just one thing, it shouldn’t ruin our relationship!”<br/>Sophie’s mouth dropped open, and she bolted straight up. “Seriously? If it really didn’t matter, you wouldn’t mind sharing it with me. But apparently one secret is more important than your girlfriend.”<br/>Tedros didn’t move. <br/>Scoffing, Sophie turned around and started walking away from the bench. All this time she’d been berating herself for scaring him away, but he was the one who — <br/>“Sophie, please.” Tedros appeared next to her, eyebrows drawn together. “I know you wanted to come here to talk to me, and I— ”<br/>“I’ll find someone else to talk to,” Sophie snapped, pulling away. “Besides, I shouldn’t even be talking to you.”<br/>As she pulled ahead, she heard Tedros behind her muttering. “You shouldn’t be … Wait, what do you mean?”<br/>Sophie only waved him off.<br/>“Soph — Sophie!” he called, not making a move as she headed towards the street. “Oh, come on…”<br/>After flagging down an approaching taxi, Sophie couldn’t help but look back at him. His mouth hung open, his eyes wide. She almost laughed — he looked so shocked, and yet he didn’t even know half of what happened. But there was no chance of her smiling in any way right now. <br/>Tedros turned away — Sophie watched him head towards the other side of the park, one that led deeper into the Skyscraper District. She sighed and turned to get inside the taxi … but something held her back. <br/>She couldn’t leave now. There were answers she needed to find.<br/>“Kid!” the taxi driver crowed, almost spitting at her. “Are you gonna get in, or can I go find someone who will?”<br/>Soophie hesitated, took one last look at Tedros as he disappeared from her view … then waved the driver off. She then followed where Tedros had gone, weaving her way through the few people there. Even though she could barely see him in the distance, she’d catch up to him eventually. She had to.<br/>She reached the other side of the park a few minutes later. A butterfly floated past her, and she took a moment to stop and admire it … then snapped back to reality. Far ahead of her, Tedros rounded the corner of an alley, yet again disappearing from her sight. <br/>Cursing, Sophie broke into a run. She tore across the street and into an alley ahead of her, crying, “Tedros! Tedros, wait! I need … I need to talk to you!” Stumbling over her own feet, she rounded the corner of the alley —<br/>Wait.<br/>He wasn’t there.<br/>Sophie jogged to the other end of the alley, looked around to see if Tedros had somehow made it this far. Nothing except a bird’s passing shadow. Either he’d already made it past this alleyway, which seemed pretty freaking impossible … or there was something big he hadn't told her.<br/>Turning back towards the way she came, Sopihe noticed a heap of fabric abandoned at the side of the alley. She walked over to it — grey, expensive material, smelling like the thick woods you could only find at least an hour away from here …<br/>Tedros’s hoodie. <br/>Sophie frowned, pickling it up to fold it. Why would Tedros abandon his hoodie in a random alleyway? Was this some weird way he donated stuff to homeless people?<br/>Whatever. At least she could use this as an excuse to have another meeting with him. And then hopefully she could convince him to tell her something.<br/>Hopefully.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>*sips tea*<br/>yeah guys im sorry i've been trying to run 3 fanfics at the same time and i haven't even started one and then i started drafting a oneshot???? yeah 'm not sure what i've been doing but im sorry it took so long for an update<br/>speaking of that oneshot it is an sge-central one so if you guys wouldn't mind checking it out once its posted that'd be great<br/>aight see y'all next time</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0005"><h2>5. FIGHTING</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>“Are you sure this is where you wanted me to drop you off?” Sophie’s taxi driver asked, scratching under her ponytail.<br/>Sophie nodded and stepped out of the car, staring at the building in front of her. “Yeah. This is it.”<br/>“But - but Mr. Elliott doesn’t accept tourists,” the driver stammered. “Anyone who’s spent a day in Gold City knows that.”<br/>“I know. I’m not a tourist.” Sophie handed a wad of cash to the cab driver, then drifted a few steps closer to the golden gate in front of the Elliotts’ house. <br/>Marble domes and columns soared beyond the gates, definitely not close enough for her to reach. Though it didn’t match the enormous size of the White House, in Gold City it was the closest thing - too many rooms, walls scrubbed whiter than possible, not one leaf out of place. And the grass, groomed to perfection, in a brighter color than even turf could reach. Was this supposed to be a house for actual people or just a movie set?<br/>Sophie turned her attention to a box attached to the front of the gate, covered in … buttons? “What is this thing?” she muttered, inspecting it from different angles..<br/>“Try holding down the blue button,” the driver grumbled, then drove away. <br/>Sophie sighed - there went her ride home. Cautiously, she pushed the blue button - static crackled, then a voice blared, “Property’s closed to the public. Beat it.”<br/>“No, I’m not- ” Sophie hesitated, unsure what to say. “I’m Tedros’s … ex-girlfriend.”<br/>“Which one?” The person didn’t seem convinced.<br/>Sophie stifled a groan and leaned onto the gate. “Uh, the newest one? Listen, he left his jacket behind. I’m only here to return it to him.”<br/>“Well, let me check the cameras … oh. That is his jacket, isn’t it? And you’re … didn’t you show up on the news a few days ago?”<br/>“Yup,” Sophie drawled.<br/>“Okay. Well, Tedros isn’t here- ”<br/>Sophie dropped the jacket. “What? Then where the heck is he?”<br/>“I don’t know. I’m a security guard, not a stalker. Listen, you can come in and we’ll have someone come and take it from you- ”<br/>“You know what? Forget it. If Tedros wants his jacket back, he should at least get it in person.” Gritting her teeth, Sophie released the button and began walking away.<br/>“Wait!” the voice blared after her. “Are you - do you want me to tell him you came?”<br/>Sophie didn’t falter. This idiot expected her to just hand over the jacket and move on from Tedros? No way. No matter what, she’d keep pushing Tedros until he gave her the answers she wanted. Like her mother, if Sophie wanted something and didn't get it, the people around her were in for a lot of … bad. <br/>Lips teasing upwards, Sophie tightened her grip on the jacket with one arm and whistled for a new cab with the other.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p>Sophie didn’t expect Tedros to call the same day. She thought he’d ignore her for a day or two first, the way he had when she’d texted him asking to talk. But a few hours after she’d showed up at his house, her phone rang - him.<br/>She brought the phone up to her lips. “What?”<br/>“Sorry. I just want to get this straight,” Tedros said. “So today you showed up at my house, said you were my ex, and refused to give back my hoodie?”<br/>“Yeah, so?” Sophie bit her bottom lip.<br/>Tedros chuckled. “Well, you’re not like anyone I’ve ever dated before, that's for sure. Anyways, you said if I want my jacket back, I’m gonna have to get it in person … so when do you want to meet up?”<br/>Sophie blinked. “Well, since you weren’t at home, aren’t you busy?”<br/>“Uh .. I’m sure I can clear some time. I’m pretty sure I don’t have anything tonight, if you’re available then.”<br/>“Wait. Is this just like, you get the jacket and then we’re over? Because I’m not doing that.”<br/>“Do you want me back?”<br/>“Nope.”<br/>He sighed. “Okay … so what is it you want?”<br/>“Use your brain,” Sophie snapped, lifting her thumb to hang up -<br/>“Okay, if it’s because of my dishonesty, I’ll tell you whatever you want.”<br/>Sophie paused. “Anything?”<br/>“Yeah. I promise. I’ll even tell you if i’m Animae.”<br/>Oh, yes. Sophie pumped her fist before returning to the call. “Okay. So where are we gonna meet up?”<br/>Tedros waited a second before speaking. “I have somewhere in mind.”</p><p> </p><p>“I’m not going any further,” the driver said, pulling up to the curb and stopping. <br/>Frowning, Sophie looked up from her phone. “Why not? I have more money.”<br/>He crossed his arms. “Not gonna happen. No amount of money will make me go into the Snake District.”<br/>Sophie’s eyes popped open. She’d given the driver the address without bothering to look it up since she trusted Tedros - with restaurants, anyway. After that she’d been on her phone the entire time, never looking up to see where the car drove to. And now she’d pay the price. <br/>She looked out the window. The street in front of them led into a labyrinth of alleyways surrounded by stacked buildings tortured by bullet marks, burns … the home of freaks the world had never seen anything like before. <br/>In her head, she could almost hear her mother’s voice: Sophie, something you will learn in this world is that if you don’t think about the future, something terrible will happen and you’ll never be prepared. <br/>She seized up, about to tell the driver to take her back -<br/>“Sophie!” Tedros ran up to the car, waving at her. <br/>Shoving her doubts deep inside, Sophie scooped up his jacket from next to her and exited the cab. Tedros ran up to her with an oversized smile like they actually liked each other still … and then he stopped a foot or two away from her, energy gone. <br/>“... Nice to see you,” he said.<br/>She sighed and pushed the jacket into his chest. “Here. This is yours.” <br/>He accepted it, said nothing. Sophie rocked from her heels to her toes and back again. They’d finished with the jacket business, and if she didn’t want anything else, she could just go. But … answers. What mattered more: her urge for everything to make sense more important than her will to get the frick out of the Snake District?<br/>She couldn’t decide. So she decided to play to her strengths and try to get something out of him here and now. <br/>“I assume you chose to meet in the Snake District on purpose,” she said coolly. “Did you somehow know it would put me off balance? Maybe you were reading my mind - is that one of your powers?”<br/>Tedros’s eyes bulged. He glanced nervously at the driver, then mouthed, “Not here.”<br/>“Why not?’ Sophie gestured at the airpods wedged in the driver’s ears. “He’s not listening.”<br/>Tedros sighed. “Just - can we just wait until we get inside the restaurant? I’d feel more comfortable telling you there instead of out in the open.”<br/>“Oh, so you’d feel more comfortable in the middle of an Animae hotspot?”<br/>“I…” He frowned. “Listen, at least that place is monitored, and if someone tried to spy on us there, I’d know it. Out here, there’s no way of knowing.”<br/>For a moment, Sophie considered his words. “... I guess you’re right.”<br/>“Well, I’m usually right about things like this.” He shrugged. “So … are we gonna head to the restaurant or not?”<br/>Tires screeched beside them as Sophie’s cab made its untimely - and also unruly - escape. She sighed, watching her ride vanish. “Well, I don’t have anywhere else to go, so … why don’t we?”</p><p> </p><p>The restaurant looked nothing like a restaurant.<br/>At first when Sophie followed Tedros through the maze of alleys, she glanced at all of the closed shops lining the streets and wondered if the restaurant actually existed. However, a few turns later, a flickering sign appeared in the distance. As she drew closer, Sophie noted that the restaurant stood on the corner of two alleys, the sign glinting atop it reading “Billy’s Bar-B-Q.” Light glowed from inside the windows, though concealed by blackout blinds, and bright music squeezed out of the doorframe. <br/>Tedros opened the door, letting the music fill the empty alleys, and held it open for Sophie.<br/>Inside tables crammed every available inch on the hardwood floors, while a bar lined the wall on the left. Strings of light covered the wall along with an incoherent assortment of paintings, sculptures, and similar things. A scattering of people leaned against the wall decorations, sat at tables and even played pool, seeming unbothered by their being in the most dangerous part of Gold City. In fact, some of them looked dangerous themselves. <br/>Sophie did not like it. <br/>Unaware, Tedros directed her to the bar and helped her up on a stool, then sat down on her left. Sophie laid her purse down on the counter and tried to look down, but a blond, tattooed bartender wiping a glass distracted her by asking, “Want anything, honey?” <br/>Sophie shook her head. <br/>The bartender only chuckled and leaned in closer, showing off a glittery tattoo peeking out from below her neckline. “Really, anything. The city’s pretty much forgotten about this restaurant. We don’t check licenses, and we sure as heck won’t tell your parents.”<br/>Sophie recoiled. Sensing her distress, Tedros stuck his face in between her and the bartender and choked, “How about two waters, please?”<br/>The bartender closed her eyes and sighed. “These kids…” She stood back up and began to walk away from the duo.<br/>“This is literally a bar,” Sophie snapped at Tedros just after.<br/>“No it’s not.” He turned to her. “It’s just a barbecue joint, Soph. You have nothing to worry about.”<br/>“It’s a bar. Besides, I don’t see any food in the entire building.” <br/>“We have really good ribs!” the bartender called from the distance. <br/>“We’ll take some!” Tedros shouted back, then turned to Sophie. ”Anyways, I know you have some questions for me, so … fire away. I'll tell you whatever you want.”<br/>Sophie didn’t hesitate. “First, tell me honestly: Are you Animae?”<br/>“Don’t tell anyone else, but... yeah.”<br/>“Ha!” She pounded a fist on the table. “I knew it. I knew it.”<br/>“I wasn’t exactly subtle about it,” Tedros muttered. <br/>“So what powers do you have?”<br/>Tedros cringed. “Do we really have to talk about it now?”<br/>“Yes. You said you’d tell me whatever I wanted. This is what I want. Now talk.”<br/>“Fine.” He sighed. “I can fly.”<br/>“Oh. So that’s why you disappeared yesterday, in the alleys.”<br/>He scratched his head. “Yeah. Usually I take off whatever might weigh me down, and me or someone else goes back to get it later. I didn’t expect you to find it.”<br/>“But I did.”<br/>“Yup.”<br/>“So, what else can you do?”<br/>“I…” He paused, closing his eyes. “I can also see the future.”<br/>Sophie’s eyes widened. “What?”<br/>“It’s not that big of a d- ”<br/>“Oh, my God. Do you know who’s going to be the next President? Can you see when you’ll die?” She gasped. “Wait. Can you see when I’ll die?”<br/>He frowned. “It doesn’t work like that.”<br/>Sophie stopped. “...Oh. So how does it work?”<br/>“I can’t really control it. Usually what happens is at some random time, I get a sudden vision of something relevant, like … like when I first saw you.”<br/>Sophie looked up. “You had a vision about me?”<br/>“Yeah. I saw that you were going to be important to me in some way.”<br/>“Well, how?”<br/>He shrugged. “They’re always too vague for me to figure anything out before it happens. So I guess we’ll wait and see.”<br/>“Huh… So you’re a Goldmask, right?”<br/>“Right.”<br/>“So what’s it like working with them? Like, is training difficult? And … wait. Do you ever get to see the f- ”<br/>Tedros elbowed her in the side, forcing her to stop mid-sentence. He gestured at the bartender approaching, who held two waters and a basket of sauce-covered ribs. “Enjoy,” she said, setting them down in front of the duo and retreating again.<br/>Taking a breath, Tedros reached for a rib. “You were saying?”<br/>“Uh .. Do you ever see the famous members, the ones that founded the group? Oh, my God, these ribs are incredible - I mean, like Chameleon or Leopard or E-”<br/>“Trainees don’t usually get to see the leaders unless they’re on missions,” Tderos said quickly.<br/>Sophie blinked. “..Oh.”<br/>That's just the way it works.” Tedros sighed then took a huge bite of his ribs. He’s avoiding conversation, Sophie thought as she watched him. She opened her mouth to ask another question -<br/>“Tedros!” someone called.<br/>Sophe turned to see a girl with two bright purple knots on top of her head and a bear-paw necklace slide in between the couple. She smiled at Tedros, then noticed Sophie and stared at her with curious eyes. “New girlfriend, huh? Though I’ve never seen you bring a girl here. This one must be …” Her eyes flashed with jealousy. “...Special.”<br/>“What do you want, Bianca?” Tedros said.<br/>“What?” The Bianca girl frowned. “What? I’m just saying hi.”<br/>“Who are you?” Sophie interjected. “A terrible ex or something?”<br/>Bianca laughed, then shook her head. “No. We thought about being together .. briefly, but we knew it wouldn’t work. Besides, if we’d dated, I would have never found Ari.” She gestured at a tall blond boy standing across the room with his back turned. <br/>Tedros cleared his throat. “Nice to see you, Bianca.”<br/>“Oh, come on. I haven’t even had a chance to talk to your new girlfriend yet.” She grinned at Sophie. <br/>Tedros began, “I don’t think Sophie wants to talk to you- “<br/>Sophie stomped down on his foot, making him wince. She didn’t care. “I can speak for myself,” she told him before turning to Bianca. “So what do we have to talk about?”<br/>Bianca shrugged. “I mean, if you ever need someone to complain to about this boy … I’ll be here.” She winked. “Now, Tedros, one more thing before I go … I want you to arm wrestle me like we did the day we met.”<br/>Tedros frowned. “Huh?”<br/>“Don’t tell me you forgot. That day, we were here and a bunch of people had started arm wrestling with each other. We both joined, then we went up against each other and -”<br/>“I beat you,” he finished smugly.<br/>Bianca cracked her knuckles. “Well, don’t expect that to happen this time. I’m a whole lot stronger than I was that day.”<br/>“Then why should I bother going up against you?” Tedros put his arm in position - elbow on the bar table, hand ready to take Bianca’s.<br/>She placed her hand in position. “Consider this a rematch. Go!”<br/>They pushed against each other. For a few seconds, their hands wobbled slightly back and forth as both people pressed each other - Tedros’s brow furrowed, while Bianca didn’t seem to even be looking at her hands. Then, slowly their hands tipped closer to Tedros and his defeat, closer, closer … until the back of his hand slipped the counter and Bianca sprung up, whooping out loud. <br/>“What did I tell you?!” she cheered. <br/>“Dang.” Tedros wrung out his hand. “Dang, you have gotten stronger.”<br/>“And I barely even tried.” <br/>Sophie stared at Bianca. Tedros had been seriously struggling, and this girl didn’t even seem to care? How … <br/>Unless she, like Sophie, had strength like no one else.<br/>“I’ll try,” Sophie suggested. <br/>The other girl frowned at her. “You sure? Tedros just got whipped, though.”<br/>“Tedros is weak.” Sophie put her elbow up, positioning herself. “I think I’ll be a better matched opponent.”<br/>Bianca hesitated, then took her opponent’s hand. “Let’s do it. Though I don’t believe you’ll be able to overcome me.”<br/>So they began.<br/>Sophie pushed against Bianca, summoning some of her superhuman strength - and found herself matched by someone just as strong. She pushed back, until both girls pushed against each other equally. Bianca’s eyes widened when she saw Sophie undo the little advantage she had, then she grit her teeth and kept pushing. But Sophie kept pushing too, harder, harder, until their hands started to dip towards Bianca’s side and Sophie grinned - <br/>Something moved in the corner of her eye. Sophie looked up and saw Tedros looking at her, mouthing, “Don’t.” <br/>Sophie frowned, about to say something, but he shook his head and made a cutting motion with his hand. Sophie kept pushing on - she was halfway there - then she looked closer at Tedros face and changed her mind.<br/>Her and Bianca’s hands smacked down on Sophie’s side, determining Bianca the victor.<br/>Bianca didn't seem as cocky with this win - she just chuckled. “Dang. You’re stronger than I thought, New Girlfriend. But I’m still the best.”<br/>Sophie grumbled under her breath.<br/>Bianca stood, blew a kiss at Tedros and walked away from the duo. Sophie watches her go up to her boyfriend, tap him on the shoulder, then talk to him while jerking thumbs in Sophie’s direction …, <br/>Sophie turned away. Don’t think about her anymore.<br/>So she started glaring at Tedros.<br/>“What?” he mumbled. “Okay, just trust me on this.”<br/>“I could have easily beat her,” Sophie grumbled. <br/>Leaning closer, Tedros whispered, “Sophie. I know you’re keeping a secret like mine. To keep that a secret, it’s best you don’t flaunt your ... strengths.”<br/>She tensed - how had he figured her out? Then she realized as he wasn't subtle about his abilities, she wasn't subtle about hers. “Fine,” she sighed. “But now you have to wrestle with me.”<br/>Tedros frowned.<br/>Sophie laughed so hard the water glasses on the table started shaking. </p><p> </p><p>Time passed. Sophie barely noticed. She kept eating, talking, laughing without noticing the time passing. As far as she could tell, she’d been frozen inside one moment: her and Tedros enjoying each other’s presence.<br/>The sun set. Sophie didn’t notice until Tedros lured her outside with promises of kisses in the dark and a ride home. (By the way, feel free to throw Sophie’s whole “Tedros’s ex-girlfriend” thing out the window.)<br/>Together, Sophie and Tedros stumbled through the Snake District, guided only by the flashlights on their phones. Sophie felt too lovesick to care. Although every time Tdros placed a kiss on her cheek, she couldn’t help but think … <br/>“We’re really stupid, aren’t we?”<br/>“I thought we already figured that out.” Tedros brushed a few loose strands of Sophie’s hair from her cheek and kissed the exposed space. <br/>“We have to be drunk or something,” she said, sighing in delight. <br/>“Well, this might seem cheesy, but I’m drunk on you, kind of.”<br/>“That was so cheesy.” Sophie rolled her eyes. “Please never do that again.”<br/>“What? Are you wine-ing over my sense of humor?”<br/>She doubled over, cringing hard. “Stop it. Just stop. I’m begging you.”<br/>Tedros shrugged. “Fine, You’ll miss out, though.”<br/>“Listen.” Sigh. “I don’t know why I was so mad at you before. I kept acting like we‘d already broken up, but we were only fighting. I’m so dumb and … I’m sorry.”<br/>“We’ve talked about this, Sophie.” He put an arm around her waist and pulled her close. “It’s my fault. I wasn’t being honest with you.”<br/>“... You know, we should make a promise to each other or something. So this doesn’t happen anymore.”<br/>Tedros nodded. “So what do we do? Slice our palms or something?” <br/>“Um, no. Let’s just, uh … pinky swear.”<br/>“Pinky swear? Is that formal enough?”<br/>“Well, break the promise and you lose a finger.” Sophie stuck out her pinky. “Just repeat after me: ‘I, Sophie Taylor, promise that for the duration of my relationship with Tedros Elliott, I will not keep any secrets from him.’ Got it?”<br/>“Yeah. ‘I, Sophie Taylor- ”<br/>“No!” she howled. “Use your own name!”<br/>They laughed for a minute, then Tedros took breath and repeated, “‘I, Tedros Elliott, promise that for the duration of my relationship - this feels weird - with Sophie Taylor, I will not keep any secrets from her.’”<br/>The two were silent for a minute, releasing in the sacredness of their promise as if saying it would force them to keep it.<br/>Then a voice interrupted as if setting the promise on fire.<br/>“Oh, really? You two must be saying that to convince each other you have no secrets. To lie to each other. Right?”<br/>Sophie glanced up. She tensed, hands tightening into fists. She knew that voice<br/>And judging from Tedros’s stance, he knew it too.<br/>A figure inched into the light - green eyes, cold scales -- and continued, “Because I, for one, know there's at least one secret each of you are keeping from each other.”<br/>Snake’s eyes flicked to those of the girl watching her as she said her name. “Sophie.” Then she looked at the third person there. <br/>“... And Teddy.”</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0006"><h2>6. TWO SIDES</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>At that point, there was only one thing Sophie could do: pretend Snake was completely off.<br/>“What?” she snorted, crossing her arms. “I’m not keeping any secrets from Tedros, and he’s not keeping any from me.” She glanced over at him. “Right?”<br/>Tedros looked down at his feet. “Right.” <br/>Snake arched one eyebrow. “And you really expect me to believe that? I know you at least haven’t told him about our meeting.”<br/>Sophie’s mouth dropped open.<br/>“Wait, ‘our meeting?’” Tedros swiveled to Sophie, eyes wide. “You met with Snake and you didn’t tell me?”<br/>She bit her lip. “I— ”<br/>“Well, I did tell you the consequence if you two got together again.” Snake snapped her fingers, and hands appeared out of nowhere to restrain Sophie. Two Greenmasks emerged from the dark and dragged her away from Tedros and an approaching Snake. Panicking, she struggled against the Greenmasks and cried out, “Let me go!” They never did. <br/>Snake circled closer to Tedros, but he didn’t seem intimidated. “If you want me to tell her my secrets, I will,” he said. “One of my secrets isn’t actually mine… it’s yours. And I have no problem with sharing it.” <br/>The Greenmask’s eyes flashed. “I’d like to see you try.”<br/>She extended one hand. <br/>“Hey!” Sophie shouted, desperate— but she was too late.<br/>Tedros’s breathing stopped abruptly and he fell to his knees, clawing for air. Sophie clamped a hand over her mouth. It had been awful having it happen to herself, but it was just as bad when she was watching someone else suffer through it. <br/>A strange feeling filled her throat— the same one she’d had after Snake had used her power against Sophie. Maybe she should release it… but did she want to? She had no idea how it worked, and it would be better to experiment with it later when she wasn’t in danger. For now she should just use an ability she had full confidence in: her strength.<br/>Sophie whirled to the nearest Greenmask and planted a foot in his chest so forcefully she heard something crack. Then she spun around and smashed a fist into the nose of the second, who hunched over and pressed a hand to the blood pouring out of it. The girl growled, raised her own fist to strike. Sophie yelped and did the first thing she could think of: fell onto one knee, grabbed the Greenmask’s fist, and swung her overhead. The next thing Sophie saw was the girl sprawled out in front of her, crying out in pain. <br/>Standing again and mumbling a thank you to the PE teacher who made her learn that move, Sophie glanced back at the two fallen Greenmasks, then up at Snake and Tedros. Neither one seemed to notice her— Snake had all her focus on Tedros, while he only struggled to stay conscious. <br/>Sophie had to do something now.<br/>Her first instinct was to charge, but then Snake would stop killing Tedros and start killing Sophie. Would he recover in time to help her? Would he help her? She’d better not risk it. Maybe she should attack with something more likely to catch Snake off guard— like a weapon.<br/>She looked around. There wouldn’t be anything relatively weaponlike in her purse, and sadly the Greenmasks appeared unarmed. So what could she use, then? There was a Dumpster on the side of the alley Sophie could throw, but it looked a bit too heavy. Maybe something a bit more manageable… maybe the totalled sedan lying a little ways away.<br/>After jogging over, she placed two hands on the car’s hull and lifted it with all her strength. She struggled for a second, then the car rose from the ground. Tightening her grip, she lifted it higher… higher… Staring up at Snake, she swung the can into the air like it was a giant, rectangular Frisbee. It sliced through the air, heading straight for Snake— <br/>And missed by several feet. <br/>It made for a good distraction, though. Snake gaped at Sophie, while Tedros bent over, gasping in air. Success. <br/>Soon enough, Snake regained her composure and her eyes narrowed at Sophie. “Well, this is a surprise. You’re one of us.”<br/>Sophie folded her arms, refusing to respond. <br/>“Hmm. You know, I think you’d make a great Greenmask. I know you’ve been searching for answers lately. I can tell you whatever you want. I’ll give you some training, and you can help us win the war against the Gold Masks.”<br/>“I would never join you,” Sophie fired. <br/>Snake’s expression didn’t change. “Voluntarily.”<br/>She raised her hand. Sophie gasped, but this time the force filling her let her breathe. Instead it surged through her and forced her to take a step towards Snake, even though she didn’t want to—<br/>A blur the color of a rock hidden in sand smashed into Snake, knocking her to the ground and setting Sophie free. She stumbled back and wondered if her savior would reveal himself … then, slowly, he rose. His breaths were heavy as he stared down at Snake, the two golden brown wings protruding from his back stretched out to their full width. <br/>“Sorry, she’s taken,” he spat.<br/>He looked back at Sophie. She sucked in a breath. “Tedros? You’re… ”<br/>“I know,” he sighed. “I did tell you I could fly. What did you imagine, that I looked like Superman?”<br/>“I— no! It's not that, it’s … When you said you were Animae, I thought you were some minor Goldmask. I didn’t think you were their leader. I didn’t think you were— ”<br/>“Eagle. Yeah. that’s my alter ego.” He looked away.<br/>Sophie exhaled sharply. “And when were you— ”<br/>“Well, why did I say?” Behind them, Snake stood and wiped the blood from her split lip. “Sophie, you never told Tedros about our meeting together. Tedros, you never told Sophie you were Eagle. At this rate, this will never work out.”<br/>“Wanna bet?” Sophie snapped. <br/>Snake chuckled. “You’re spunky, but that won’t do you nany good on the battlefield. Join me, and I’ll show you everything you need to end all of this.” She grew a smug smile, as if daring Sophie to say yes. <br/>Hesitant, Sophie took a step forward, then another, and more until she stood right in front of Snake. The Greenmask’s smile grew bigger— <br/>She received a punch in the face and stumbled back.<br/>“Is that a good enough answer for you?” Sophie taunted, standing tall.<br/>The Greenmask glared at her. “Terrific.”<br/>She let out a war cry and lunged for Sophie, knocking her to the ground. Sophie raised her hands to defend herself, but fortunately Tedrios appeared behind Snake and pulled her off, hitting her in the stomach. Snake countered with her own blow, and the two continued as Sophie backed away.<br/>A cry echoed behind her— she turned to see the first Greenmask she’d fought earlier charging forward. Sophie ducked as the boy sailed over her, then transformed it into a somersault and sprang back up. He raised his hand and roared as claws emerged from his fingertips.  <br/>Sophie gulped.<br/>The Greenmask charged again, swinging his claws. Sophie stumbled back. With every step his claws drew even closer, and Sophie knew she had to do something before—<br/>Claws sliced through Sophie’s hair, severing several inches. Sophie gasped as the strands fluttered to the ground. Her fists curled. The Greenmask sprung at her again, claws aimed for her chest.<br/>Sophie slammed her fist into the boy's stomach, sending him flying backwards. He hit the ground and didn’t get back up. <br/>Biting her lip, Sophie took a few steps back, then turned to help Tedros— then she froze.<br/>Tedros lay on the ground with Snake looming above him and pressing an arm into his neck. Suffocating him. <br/>Do something. Do something!<br/>But Sophie couldn’t move. She only watched Tedros struggle, panic trapping her where she stood, a scream building in her throat… among other things. The tingling built in her throat again, a weapon she didn’t know she had ready for her to wield.<br/>Screw the risk. Sophie was desperate. She closed her eyes and let it free.<br/>She wasn't exactly sure what happened in the next few seconds. She didn't see what happened, but she heard a body hitting the ground… metal bending… and someone screaming so loud Sophie’s ears bled— until it stopped.<br/>Sophie crumpled to her knees and opened her eyes. Snake lay far away from her, sitting against a wall with her head tilted down like an inanimate doll. Meanwhile, a few feet away from Sophie, Tedros stood and lowered his hands from his ears. Eyes wide, he gasped, “What the heck did you just do?” <br/>“I… ” Sophie looked at Snake again. “I did this, didn’t I?”<br/>“You did.” Tedros stood and began to walk towards her. “We need to get you to Headquarters right now. I think you’re… well, I’ll tell you when there’s no chance of Greenmasks over hearing us.”<br/>Sophie obviously didn’t care. “You think I’m what?”<br/>“Later.” He waved her off, glanced at the alleyway behind her and frowned. “Where is Trix anyway? I sent her our location a few minutes ago, she should be here by now.”<br/>“Trix? Who’s Trix?”<br/>“Um, another Goldmask.”<br/>“A Gold… Hold up. Are you taking me to Goldmask headquarters?”<br/>Tedros stared at her. “Yeah. Where else would I take you?”<br/>The sound of screeching brakes interrupted their conversion. Headlights washed over Sophie and Tedros as a grey van rolled up in front of them. The driver’s door opened and a muscled girl with pixie-cut blond hair stepped out. Her eyes scanned the alleyway, pausing to stare at the fallen Greenmasks. “What happened here?”<br/>“It was mostly her.” Tedros jerked a thumb at Sophie, who quickly swatted it away. <br/>“Huh.” The girl looked over Sophie. “You don’t seem like the type who causes a lot of destruction. Hopefully that’ll get us a bit of an advantage in battle. I hope you’re who we need to end this.” She stuck out a hand. “Trix Jolie. Goldmask second-in-command.”<br/>Sophie took her hand. “Also Chameleon, right?”<br/>“Yup.” Trix turned to the van. “Well, I guess you should get in. On behalf of all the Goldmasks… welcome to our battalion.”</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>hiii everyone! ok so after this chapter i'm going to take a little break so i can focus on another fanfiction for a different fandom, soooooo ... might be a week or two until the next update. oh and if you're reading this i'd like to actually thank you for reading my fanfic! *laughs nervously* yeah my anxiety is struggling rn ... anyways thank you</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0007"><h2>7. HEADQUARTERS</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>me: ok imma take  short break bye<br/>(later)<br/>summer: *ends*<br/> me: whoops</p><p>sorry for the delay guys but i am alive hahaha watch dynamite mv</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>Sophie didn’t sleep much that night. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>For hours, she tossed and turned under the blanket the Goldmasks had given her. Her mind still spun from the fight she’d had that evening and the new power she’d unleashed, leaving Snake unconscious. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Sophie was an Animae. It wasn’t a secret anymore, and that made it all too real. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Because of that, Sophie was stuck here in her new room in Goldmask HQ, listening to someone a room over snore so loud the walls couldn’t dampen the sound at all. How she got there, though… she would remember that long after this mundane night.</span>
</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>
  <span>She had been riding in the van next to Trix. Tedros flew high above them to make sure no Greenmasks followed or attacked them. Sophie didn’t understand why- the van looked like any other on Goldmask streets, and they were driving close to the heart of the city. If the Goldmasks needed that much surveillance, could she ever go anywhere unsupervised again?</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Fortunately, the car passed through the Sky District with no interruptions and stopped on an avenue lined with hotels and overpriced shops. Sophie remembered that this was one of Gold City’s biggest tourist spots (before the Animae appeared, of course). </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Leaving the car, she glanced around. Like the rest of the Skyscraper District, the streets around her were packed with people. Moonlight glinted off phone screens; a police vehicle’s lights flashed in the distance. This didn’t seem like the kind of place a group of superheroes would be hiding out at. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Are you sure we’re in the right place?” Sophie asked Trix.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yup.” Trix locked the car and started walking. “We wanted our HQ to be somewhere no one would ever expect it to. Why not here?” She laughed, continuing towards the outskirts of the district. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>A birdlike shadow passed over Sophie, and she glanced up. Tedros still hadn’t landed. Sighing, she followed Trix down the streets - there wasn’t anything else she could do. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>She started looking for Goldmask headquarters, but she gave quickly and looked down at her feet instead. Immediately she cringed - her Converse had been coated with dirt, something that her mother would have never forgiven her for. She wanted to go home </span>
  <em>
    <span>now, </span>
  </em>
  <span>but… she knew it was too late for that.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Finally, after turning a corner and dodging a group of TikTok-ing ninth-graders, Trix and Sophie stopped in front of a building. Or rather, a wire fence, which surrounded a darkened skyscraper Sophie remembered seeing on TV for a solid week. The half-exploded neon sign on its front was barely visible behind a “Keep Out” sign on the fence. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“We’re here.” Trix grinned. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Sophie blinked. “What? </span>
  <em>
    <span>Here?</span>
  </em>
  <span> Your headquarters are inside an abandoned building?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Not just any abandoned building.” Trix walked up to the fence, glanced behind her to see if anyone was watching, and wrapped her fingers around it.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Not just…” Then Sophie remembered: a new hotel unveiled two months ago. At the ribbon-cutting, several stories had collapsed into the ground. “Oh. But how - I mean where-”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You’ll see. Now come on.” Tightening her grip on the fence, Trix lifted one leg. She began climbing faster than Sophie had ever seen someone move before and never lost her footing. Soon enough, she’d swung her legs over and climbed back down, landing on the other side.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Sophie choked. “Please tell me there’s a door you can open for me.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Sadly, no.” There's a </span>
  <em>
    <span>whump</span>
  </em>
  <span> of feet on the other side of the fence and Tedros had landed, folding his wings behind him as he grinned at Sophie. “You have to climb. Besides, it’s good exercise.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Groaning, Sophie walked up to the fence and tested her weight on it. “What if I get caught?” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“No one’s even looking in this direction,” Trix said. “You’re fine.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Ugh, fine. But I’d better not ruin any of my clothes.” Sophie put one foot up on the fence and started to climb. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Naturally, she climbed far slower than Trix did. And it was nothing short of terrifying. The fence was </span>
  <em>
    <span>not </span>
  </em>
  <span>sturdy, and every time Sophie moved, it swayed with her. Sophie would hold on for dear life every time she felt like she was about to fall (every other move). </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Somehow she made it all the way to the top. (She wanted to vomit at that point.) After that was the hardest part - getting her legs from one side of the fence to the other. The fence swayed even more at that part, and it took a lot of wobbling, near-death experiences, and a tear on the hem of her dress before she made it over. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>That was the point when she stopped making progress. Sophie planted her feet on the other side of the fence and it started swaying again, far more than before. Sophie’s fingers slipped from the fence and she gasped, flailing to regain her grip. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’m going to fall!” she screamed at Tedros.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You can do it!” he shouted back.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Sophie’s fingers slipped from the fence. As she plummeted toward the ground, she began to scream - </span>
</p><p>
  <span>She landed in Tedros’s arms. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>They locked eyes. Just like that, Sophie’s fear evaporated.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Um, sorry about that,” Tedros said; he set Sophie down and she slumped in disappointment. “I’m sure you’ll get better with practice.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“P - </span>
  <em>
    <span>practice?”</span>
  </em>
  <span> Sophie stammered.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“And I’m sorry your dress is torn.” Trix stared down at Sophie’s dress, lips pursed. “I’ll get Reena to fix that for you.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Reena?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Trix’s girlfriend,” Tedros replied. “But we should continue this conversation later. Let’s get Sophie inside headquarters first.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“How are we supposed to get there?” Sophie motioned at the sunken building. “Isn’t the entrance… you know, destroyed?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Believe it or not, the entire building is fine.” Trix gestured at Sophie to follow her and walked toward the pile of rubble surrounding the sky. As soon as Sophie passed the side they saw from the fence, the rubble vanished as if it was just a movie set. Nearby, a hole opened in the group with a staircase leading down it. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Sophie blinked. “How’d you get away with all of this?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Uh…” Trix shrugged. ”Let’s just say we had help.” She and Tedros reached the staircase and began to descend it without hesitation. Unlike them, Sophie paused and turned on her phone’s flashlight before going down.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>One claustrophobia-inducing flight of stairs later, Sophie made it to the bottom. A set of doors appeared - frosted glass and shiny handles, a blob of black spray where the hotel logo should be. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Tedros laughed at Sophie’s confused face. “A gold G seemed a bit too obvious,” he explained, opening one door and holding it open for her. She thanked him as she passed, smiling bigger than she probably should’ve - until two inches past the door frame, she froze.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>A lobby stretched in front of her. Though this had everything that regular hotels did - chairs everywhere, a few tables, strange metal sculptures hanging from the ceiling - this one was different because of the people in it. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Teenagers,</span>
  </em>
  <span> ranging from twelve to twenty years old. They sat in groups like they were in a school cafeteria, some dressed in combat-like gear like military boots or intricate weapon holsters, some in normal clothing. While some seemed to be sharpening knives or wrestling, the rest engaged in normal activities - drinking, eating, and things like that.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Like it?” Trix came up next to Sophie.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Uh… it’s not what I expected,” Sophie replied. “I thought it’d be more like-”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Like a heavily staffed, ultra-formal Marvel movie building?” Trix chucked. “Nope</span>
  <em>
    <span>.</span>
  </em>
  <span> This is kid run, so we aimed for a more relaxed environment. Not like we need it. We’re not training an army like the Greenmasks seem to be.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Sophie gaped at her. “Huh?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh. Sorry. You don’t know any of the inside info. Hopefully, I can get you filled in tomorrow. But for now…” She gestured at a desk at the end of the lobby with several teens working behind it. “Let’s get you a room.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>
  <span>That ended the interesting parts of Sophie’s night. One of the kids at the desk assigned her an empty room on the same floor, then Trix and Tedros sent her off with a “welcome package,” which appeared to be an assortment of toiletries and clean clothes to last Sophie until she could head home and grab some of her own stuff. Once she’d made it to her own room, she tried to go through her bedtime poutine like she would every night, but when she got into bed, the lack of answers made it impossible for her mind to calm down enough for her to fall asleep.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Somehow she fell asleep before morning came. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>She woke up that morning to someone knocking on her door. Sophie sat up quickly, blinked, and glanced at the clock on her nightstand. Almost nine. She stood, fingers picking at her rat’s nest of hair, and made her way to the door to open it.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>It wasn’t Tedros, sadly. Or Trix. Instead, it was a girl Sophie had never met before: African-American, short and chubby, holding out a tray with a plate of waffles on it.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You’re the new recruit, right?” she asked, shifting the tray in her hands. “I made breakfast for you.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Sophie hesitated, then let the girl in. She was </span>
  <em>
    <span>starving,</span>
  </em>
  <span> for goodness’ sake.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The duo crashed on Sophie’s bed. Without hesitating, Sophie picked up a fork and dug into the waffles. She shut her eyes, feeling the honey-flavored bite melting in her mouth. “What </span>
  <em>
    <span>is</span>
  </em>
  <span> this?” she gasped, mouth full.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Waffles made with honey.” The girl smiled. “My mom’s recipe.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh, my God.” Sophie took a breath. “It’s like heaven, but food.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Glad you think so.” The girl watched as Sophie shoveled in even more food, not looking one bit fazed. “So what’s your name?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Sophie,” she said in between bites. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Cool. My real name is Destiny - Destiny Tolle, though my dad’s the only one who calls me that. And before you ask, yes, my dad is the police chief.” She rolled her eyes. “People have asked me that so many times it’s straight-up </span>
  <em>
    <span>annoying</span>
  </em>
  <span> now.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Sophie chuckled quietly. “Someone understands.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You have a famous dad, too?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Um…” Sophie froze mid-bite, smile gone. “Not exactly.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh. Sorry, uh…”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>They faded into an awkward silence. Sophie shoveled another bite into her mouth, hoping the food would keep her from crying. That didn’t work. </span>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Change the subject instead, </span>
  </em>
  <span>she told herself.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“So.., you said only your dad calls you Destiny Tolle. What about everyone else?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Destiny rolled her eyes. “I have this stupid nickname based on my initials-”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“</span>
  <em>
    <span>I swear to god. </span>
  </em>
  <span>Dot!” someone barked outside Sophie’s door. It blasted open and a girl of about eighteen stormed in - Asian, with spiky black hair. Her lips were pressed in a scowl and barely parted when she spoke. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You’re feeding her?” she snapped. “You know she can’t eat anything for thirty minutes before the test, and you gave her food anyway. Thanks.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You never said that!” Dot fired back.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Wh - Yes, I did! Don’t blame me because you weren’t listening.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I -” Dot took a breath. “Forget it. Can we please stop fighting for Sophie’s sake?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The newcomer’s dark eyes fixed on Sophie. “I can’t believe they brought </span>
  <em>
    <span>another</span>
  </em>
  <span> girl like her in. As if we don’t have enough recruits who refuse to even lift a finger.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Dot rolled her eyes. “Sophie, this is Hester, my-” her voice dripped with sarcasm - “best friend.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Your best friend?” Hester crossed her arms. “You flatter me.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Sophie coughed. “</span>
  <em>
    <span>Um. </span>
  </em>
  <span>Excuse me, but you said something about a test. No one said anything about a test.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Relax,” Hester replied. “It’s just a quick DNA test so we can determine which animal you developed your powers from.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“DNA?” Sophie blinked. “Huh?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Hester shot her a look that screamed </span>
  <em>
    <span>you’re an idiot. </span>
  </em>
  <span>“Okay, here’s the short version: Somehow you, me, Dot, and every other Animae has had their DNA mixed with that of an animal, making us develop superhuman powers. There. Animae in a nutshell.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Okay… but how? And why do we need to do a full DNA test? Why can’t we just guess it from the powers?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Answer one: Nobody knows. If you figure it out, please tell me. Answer two: of </span>
  <em>
    <span>course</span>
  </em>
  <span> we can guess.” Hester leaned in closer. “So tell me: Which animal</span>
  <em>
    <span>s</span>
  </em>
  <span> can summon</span>
  <em>
    
  </em>
  <span>a sword out of nowhere?” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Sophie blinked. “...None of them?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Well, that’s one of Dot’s powers anyway. See why guessing doesn’t work?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh, come on,” Dot muttered. “I wanted to wait until we were in the heat of battle and Sophie needed backup and I could come swooping in with Stinger and save her. That’s such a cooler first experience than you just telling her.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Whatever.” Hester locked eyes with Sophie. “So are you going to come to take that test or what?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Sophie looked down at her waffles. “Um…”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Let her finish her breakfast,” Dot said, voicing what Sophie didn’t say herself.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“</span>
  <em>
    <span>Fine</span>
  </em>
  <span>,” Hester sighed. “I’ll be back in thirty minutes for the test. You’d better not be eating when I walk in.” Her lips pressed together again as she turned and left, slamming the door behind her.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Only a second passed before Sophie declared, “Well, she’s fun,” and punctuated it with a bite of waffles.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Dot laughed. “Yup.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>
  <span>True to her word, Hester showed up exactly thirty minutes and escorted Sophie through the hills of the headquarters. It wasn’t an amazing tour.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“That’s the gym. We just kept it that way ‘cause every superhero needs somewhere to work out and all that.” Hester waved a hand at a nearby door. “And that’s one of the old meeting rooms, which we converted into a room for training or sparring. On the other side is what used to be the breakfast area, but now it’s the infirmary.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Sophie gaped at Hester. “Wait - so if I get injured or something, I’m getting treated by someone my age?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Well, if it’s not too severe. We’ll send you to the hospital if you need it. Now, here we go.” Hester walked up to a door with a “kitchen” sign on it and opened it. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>It didn’t look like a great kitchen. Though appliances lined the walls, there wasn’t much actually on top of the platinum counters. The only small item there was some machine on top of an island in the middle, appearing to be a tiny printer with a tiny screen and several buttons on top. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Hester swept to the machine, grabbed a small plastic vial sitting next to it, and handed it to Sophie. “Here. Fill this with spit up to the blue line.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Confused, Sophie stared at the container. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What?” Hester leaned against the machine., “You’ve never taken an Ancestry test or something like that?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“No.” Sophie sighed and began to gather spit in her mouth.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>A lot of gross spitting later, she’d filled the vial. Hester took it from her, opened a door on the front of the machine. She stuck the vial in upright. Closing the door, she punched a few buttons - the machine stuck a needle of some sort into the vial and started whirring. A tiny light on the top began to blink red.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Now we wait.” Hester sighed, boosting herself so she sat on the counter. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“So... how does the DNA comparison work?” Sophie asked her.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Hester shot her another “you’re an idiot” glare. “The machine is going to compare your DNA to that of countless different animals to find a match. When it finds one, we’ll find what animal your powers are sourced from.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Sophie nodded, her fingers curling around themselves. “So this machine - another Goldmask made it?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Nope.” Hester scoffed. “No one here is smart enough for that. This was from… You know what? Ask someone else to tell you about White Swan. You ask too many questions and I’m not going to answer them for you.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Okay…” Sophie frowned. </span>
  <em>
    <span>White Swan. </span>
  </em>
  <span>But she looked at Hester, who was currently glaring at a wall across from her, and decided it’d be better to respect the other Goldmask’s wishes.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She sighed and slumped over against the wall- </span>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Ding.</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>Both Hester and Sophie spun to the DNA machine as it whirred to a shop, the light on top of it glowing a constant green. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Hester blinked before making her way over to it. “Huh. Usually, it takes a lot longer than th-” Her eyes locked on the screen, and she froze. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What?” Sophie stammered, standing back up. “What is it? What happened.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“One of two things.” Disbelief shook Hester’s voice. “Either Tedros’s second power is a complete lie…” She turned to face Sophie, eyes glittering with something she couldn’t place. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“...Or you’re the Animae who can end this war once and for all,” Hester finished.</span>
</p><p> </p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0008"><h2>8. LIONESS</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>Hester didn’t even have the decency to explain that. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Only one second after her “you’re the one who can end this war” proclamation, she grabbed Sophie’s wrist and dragged her out of the testing room. As the two maneuvered the hallways of Goldmasks headquarters, Sophie attempted to ask Hester, “Where are we going?” and “What do you mean, I can end the war?”; however, Hester kept staring straight ahead, as she had in the testing room. Sophie had to wait and see. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Finally Hester released Sophie in front of two doors marked by a plaque reading, “Meeting Room.” Sophie opened her mouth to ask another question, but before she could, Hester flung open the door and shoved her inside. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>The buzz in the room stopped and everyone inside turned to look at her. She counted five - Trix, Tedros, and three others she’d never seen before. Pressure pushed against her and she looked down at her feet.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Um, Founders,” Hester said in a tone that Sophie assumed was supposed to be respectful. “For those of you that don’t know, this is Sophie.” She gave the other grl a shove, forcing her to look up and into Tedros’s eyes. Her cheeks blazed.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Hester.” Tedros snapped, looking away from Sophie, “We’re in the middle of a meeting. Can it wait?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Maybe.” Hester studied the fingerless gloves on her hands. “But you might want to hear this.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Tedros furrowed his eyebrows. “Hear what?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Hester sighed and gave Sophie one last glance like she was about to throw her into a pit of alligators. Then she turned back to the table. “It’s her. Sophie’s the Lion.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>No one said a thing. Tedros’s mouth fell open, while the three Sophie didn’t know all frowned and started glancing at each other. Even Hester fidgeted with the zipper of her jacket. Only one person seemed unfazed - Trix, who smiled at Sophie like she’d known Sophie was the Lion (whoever the Lion was supposed to be) all along.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Sophie, on the other hand, didn’t understand enough to be shocked. </span>
</p><p><span>“I’m sorry.” She folded her arms and glanced at the others in the room. “Would someone slow down and explain to me who this Lion person is? And… I don’t even know how to say this.</span> <span>Just - what is going on?”</span></p><p>
  <span>The group sitting at the table glanced at each other, then one Sophie didn’t know - a boy with dark curly hair - took a breath. “Um… The first vision Tedros ever had - the first time his power showed up - he saw an Animae called the Lion, one stronger than any other Animae. They would be the one to defeat Snake. And according to the DNA test, that Lion is you.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Sophie couldn’t say a thing. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’m sorry. No.” She turned around, paced to the door and back again. “That can’t be right.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“It is,” said one of the “Founders” Sophie didn’t know - freckled, with curly red hair and two antlers sticking out of said hair. “Tedros’s power doesn’t lie. Ask anyone here.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Sophie glanced up at Hester, who only shrugged. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I- I haven’t even agreed to join you yet,” Sophie mumbled. “How am I supposed to be the Lion or whatever if I don’t even want to be here?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Trix frowned, which only made Sophie feel worse. “Snake </span>
  <em>
    <span>attacked</span>
  </em>
  <span> you,” she said. “I don’t think you have a choice.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I - I do, though.” Panic began to choke Sophie. “I always have a choice.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Well, technically you do,” Hester muttered. “It’s either you join us or the Greenmasks find you and tear you apart. So have fun trying to survive a whole army of Animae on your own.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Jeez, don’t scare her off.” muttered a </span>
  <em>
    <span>hijab</span>
  </em>
  <span>-clad girl as she swiped through the tablet in her hands.</span>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Too late for that,</span>
  </em>
  <span> Sophie thought as she glanced from one pair of eyes to the next. All were fixed on both her and something inside of her at the same time. They weren't counting on her, but something they wanted her to be.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I - I can’t,” Sophie choked. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>The girl with the </span>
  <em>
    <span>hijab</span>
  </em>
  <span> frowned. “What? What is it?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I can’t do this.” Sophie began to walk away. “I’m sorry, but i’m not this Lion. I’m not a superhero, I’m just… me.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Sophie,” Tedros began. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Find someone else to save you. It’s not me.” She stepped out of the room, fingers brushing against the doorway. After she took a few steps down the hall, her legs gave out and her shoulder slammed against the nearby wall. She gasped in empty air, her vision blurring - </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Footsteps exited the meeting room and a door closed. Sophie looked up to see Hester walking towards her, eyes filled with something that might have been satisfaction. She looked up for a split second and smirked. “I'll walk you out, Lion.”</span>
</p><p><br/>
<br/>
<br/>
<br/>
<br/>
</p><p>
  <span>Hester didn’t just walk Sophie out. Without saying a single word, she led Sophie through Goldmask HQ and up the stairs; she even helped Sophie finally conquer the fence outside. After that, Sophie expected that the two would part ways, but Hester beckoned at Sophie before walking deeper into the city.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Sophie followed, because she couldn’t think straight enough to do anything else.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The duo walked side by side in silence for the first few minutes. The Goldmask hotel blurred into the distance and the streets filled with unfamiliar buildings. Sophie started to wonder where they were heading… then Hester stopped at a restaurant with a huge deck towering several stories above them. None of the lights were on inside. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Is this… open?” Sophie asked Hester.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Nope.” Hester grinned and pointed at the restaurant’s fire escape.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Sophie’s mouth dropped open. “You have to be kidding.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh, come on. It’s just stairs - way easier than the fence.” Hester grabbed Sophie’s wrist and pulled her toward the fire escape. She pulled down the first ladder and the girls began to climb.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Four flights later, Sophie’s legs began to burn. She didn’t mind. Anything was better than climbing that fence again.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Unfortunately, that wasn’t all. Hester forced Sophie to walk across a drainpipe like it was a tightrope to get from the fire escape to the deck they’d seen earlier. Sophie was terrified even though Hester kept telling her she’d (somehow) catch her if she fell. Sophie only relaxed when her feet were on a solid floor. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Her stress melted away as she walked up to the railing and stared at the street below her. From this angle, sunlight painted everything - faces, cars, even the street - in pure gold.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Wow,” she breathed. “I’ve never seen the city from this angle before. It’s… amazing.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“The higher you go, the better it gets,” Hester replied.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh, I am </span>
  <em>
    <span>not </span>
  </em>
  <span>going any higher.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I know.” Sighing, Hester leaned farther over the railing. “I used to come to this place all the time when I was younger. The management changed and the food sucks now, but I always come here to think.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Sophie exhaled. “Great view, though.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Remember, just because I brought you here doesn‘t mean I like you.” Hester's lips twitched like she was remembering something. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“So…'' Sophie's eyes fell to the sidewalk outside. “Did you bring me up here to think about why I need to become a Goldmask?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“No.” Hester shrugged. “Unlike the other Animae, I value letting people make their own decisions. I brought you here because you’re the first person - other than me, of course - to walk out on the Founders. I appreciate anyone who’s brave enough for that. Plus you look confused enough that your brain will stop working at any second.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Sophie snorted. “It might as well.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>After that, silence. Hester stared into the distance with a peaceful smile on her face. Sophie wished she could do the same, but she had too much on her mind for that.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Hester?” she asked. “Can I ask one question about the Goldmasks?” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“</span>
  <em>
    <span>Fine,”</span>
  </em>
  <span> Hester groaned. “Only one.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Why are you guys fighting the Greenmasks? Do you have beef with them or something?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Um, not exactly. The Greenmasks are involved in a lot of illegal activity - trading, collecting debts for local gangs, even a few assassinations. Anything that’ll get them more money to support their war with us. Obviously the police are too scared to even figure out that this is happening, so it’s up to us to keep them in check as well as we can. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“But… none of us want to do this our entire lives. We have dreams, plans. Purposes. This can’t be it.” Hester sighed, knitting her fingers together “We all want this to end.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You mean you want me to end it.” Sophie sighed. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I mean </span>
  <em>
    <span>they</span>
  </em>
  <span> want you to end it.” Hester rolled her eyes. “Have you been listening this entire time?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yeah, it’s just a lot to think about.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“That’s why we’re here.” Hester motioned at the desk around her. “Now shut up and think like you’re supposed to.” She turned away, smiling as she stared at the horizon.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Sophie smiled a little glancing down at the pedestrians milling round on the sidewalk. Maybe Hester was right. She just needed to think -</span>
</p><p>
  <span>A familiar voice rang out below her. Sophie glanced down to see the girl from the restaurant - Bianca - walking below them with her tall, blond, and </span>
  <em>
    <span>not</span>
  </em>
  <span> handsome boyfriend. They leaned toward each other and, though Sophie couldn’t make out exactly what they were saying, their faces were purely serious. Bianca reached into a pocket and withdrew something glinting green. She handed one to the other boy and both of them fastened what they were holding to their faces… </span>
  <em>
    <span>masks?</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>Sophie froze. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Shoot</span>
  </em>
  <span>.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Hester,” she whispered, grabbing the other girl's arm and pointing at the masked couple as they vanished into the alley. “Are they -”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yeah.” Hester cursed. “We have to see what they’re up to.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Um. </span>
  <em>
    <span>We?</span>
  </em>
  <span>”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yes, we.” Hester bent down and started to tie her shoelaces. “You think I’m going to go battle two enemy Animae without backup?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I am </span>
  <em>
    <span>not</span>
  </em>
  <span> coming.” Sophie crossed her arms. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Hester cocked a grin. “Scared, Lion?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Don’t call me that. I told you, that's not me.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What would you prefer I called you?” She straightened up. “Lioness, maybe?” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Sophie hesitated. “Better, but it’s still a hard no.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You can just stand in the back and do nothing while I beat their butts! Come on, Sophie.” Hester pulled out a mask of her own, this one gold, and fixed it to her face. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Sophie shivered. “...Fine,” she mumbled, too afraid to say anything else. “But you do all the fighting and I can go home right after.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Hester grinned. “Done.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Okay, then.” Sophie let out a huff and gestured for Hester to start walking. “Let’s get this over with.”</span>
</p><p><br/>
<br/>
</p><p> </p><p> </p><p>
  <span>In case it wasn’t obvious, Sophie only agreed to fight with Hester because seeing her in a mask terrified Sophie. Now she began to think fear was a terrible motivation to come to this fight. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Contrary to the open street Sophie stared down at a few minutes ago, these alleys were concealed in shadow. Hester seemed to have no trouble lurking in the dark; Sophie, on the other hand, had to use all of her concentration to keep from tripping. She kept following Hester even when every cell in her body screamed at her to get out of there like she’d wanted to in the first place. But soon enough, Hester stiffened, ducked behind a trash can Sophie probably would have smashed into otherwise, and whispered, “There they are.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Sophie peeked over the trash can. The duo stood in the dark, staring down at a glowing phone. The boy messed with something in his hands that looked a bit like a… </span>
  <em>
    <span>gun?</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>She began to whisper, “He’s got a-” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Hester slipped her hand over Sophie’s lips. “Stay here. I’ll call for you if I need you. Okay?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Sophie took a breath, then nodded as she squatted behind the trash can. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Hester smiled at her, and for the first time, Sophie saw light glinting off her teeth. But just as quickly as the smile had appeared, it was gone, and Hester had turned away to confront the Greenmasks. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>The duo looked up and Bianca grinned. “Long time no see, Vampire.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Same to you.” Hester nodded as Sophie peeked at the confrontation. “What are you two up to?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Wouldn’t you like to know?” the boy snapped.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Behave yourself, Ari,” Bianca fired back before turning back to Hester. “I’m sorry, but we can tell you. You get it, right?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Not really.” Hester cocked her head. “We’re such good friends, I think you can tell me.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Well, we’re such good friends, I think you know when something is private.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Hester laughed. “I’m not that kind of friend. Now tell me where you’re going or…” She flashed another toothy smile, and this time Sophie could see fangs in the full light. </span>
  <span><br/>
</span>
  <span>“I might have to force it out of you.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh, that would be awful,” Bianca pouted, then grinned as she lifted her clawed hand. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Bianca, no,” Ari hissed.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh, calm down. This’ll be easy.” Bianca grinned at Hester. “Do we really have to fight?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Not unless you’re willing to talk.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh, fine,” Bianca sighed. “But you’re just wasting time here.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She stepped forward; Ari held out a hand to stop her. “For God’s sake,” he exhaled. “We don’t need to fight. Let’s just get out of here.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Don’t tell me when I should and shouldn't fight!” Bianca snapped back.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“If you ask me, I think you two should stay and fight,” Hester sighed. “I’m not letting either of you leave until you tell me what you’re doing.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Say we do tell you.” Ari crossed his arms. “What are you going to do then?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Take you as hostages and drag you back to Goldmask headquarters. What did you expect I would do?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Ari glared at Bianca. “Let’s get out of here. We have nothing to gain from staying.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Shove it,” she fired back.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Excuse me?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Sorry to interrupt your flirting match,” Hester snapped, “but are you guys going to fight or should I knock you out right now?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Bianca hesitated for a second, then glanced up at Ari. “You know what? This isn’t worth it. Let’s go.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>She reached for his hand; at the same time, Hester began to surge forward - </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Bianca spun around and slammed her fist into Hester’s forehead. The Goldmask reeled back, losing her balance and slamming into the pavement. The two Greenmasks grinned at each other. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Sophie’s heart burst. “Hester,” she gasped, launching up from her hiding space. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Both Greenmasks stared at her for a second, and then Bianca’s lips twisted into a horrible smile. “Hey. It’s you. You know…” Bianca walked up to Sophie and grinned. “When Snake sent me to spy on you at that restaurant, I didn’t even know why she’d waste her time with you until you unleashed your powers.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Sophie swallowed. “You saw that scream, I did, right? I’ll do it again right now.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Threatening me?” Bianca stuck her face right in front of Sophie’s. “Well, you do that and the Greenmasks will have a reason to pay a visit to your family at… well, it’s 214 Gavaldon Road, isn’t it? Apartment 1B?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You know where I live?” Sophie tensed.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Well, </span>
  <em>
    <span>duh.</span>
  </em>
  <span> The Greenmasks know everything about the Goldmasks and anyone they might be affiliated with. Why wouldn’t we?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Sophie tilted her chin up as her scream began to tingle in her throat. “Let me go. I’m warning you.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You’re </span>
  <em>
    <span>warning </span>
  </em>
  <span>us?” Bianca frowned. “I sure hope you’re not planning anything.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Ari grabbed Bianca by the shoulder and pulled her away from Sophie. “Let her go. She can’t do anything to us.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Eyes blazing, Sophie opened her mouth and prepared to let the scream loose - </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Fine.” Bianca slipped her hand into Ari’s. “You win. Let’s get out of here.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Ari nodded and closed his eyes. As Sophie watched, the duo vanished - she swiped a hand at them, but it only went through empty air. She cried out in frustration.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Behind her, Hester let out a groan. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Sophie spun around and knelt right beside the Goldmask. “Are you okay?” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’m fine.” Hester coughed. “Just- pissed off that those two got away.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Sorry.” Sophie’s cheeks burned with shame.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“It’s not your fault.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Sophie hesitated before responding. “Yes, it is. They only left because they thought I wasn't worth fighting.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Hester frowned. “Isn’t that what you wanted?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I thought it was.” Sophie exhaled. “But watching them hurt you, and then being helpless to get back at the Greenmasks afterward… it felt terrible. Worse than having all that pressure on me back in the meeting room.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“So are you going to complain about it or are you going to do something?” Hester said as she sat up.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Sophie thought for a second - only a second - before she made her decision. “I never want to feel powerless like that again.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Grinning, Hester stripped off her mask and held it out to Sophie. “So are you with us?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Before Sophie could even think, the answer emerged from her lips.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“</span>
  <em>
    <span>Yes</span>
  </em>
  <span>.”</span>
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>idk bout you but this chapter was getting kinda gae in my opinion? idk man im just the person who wrote the stuff down lol<br/>~ANNOUNCEMENT~ spread the word: i'm releasing a sge oneshot in october and im really excitedddd. i love the au and i hope that you guys love it too... stay tuned for more details lol</p><p>-----------------------------------------</p><p>9/18 UPDATE:<br/>heyyy everybody! thx for reading this lol<br/>so this series has become kind of a nightmare recently, which i think is a combination of school stress, lack of interest, and my total lack of knowledge about combat (if yll know something about how to get better at that, P L E A S E send help)<br/>ANYWAYS i think i need to take another break on this. I know I tormented you all earlier with a 7245978257 month break recently but i just need time. i've actually grown really close on discontinuing the series multiple times and i'm barely holding on, so... i don't know. hopefully i'll be back in mid to late october. but I'm not completely abandoning fanfiction. my other itzy series "WANNABE" will still be going, and i have a tagtha/halloweeny oneshot coming soon... hehehe looking forward to that. so hopefully i'll see yall soon.<br/>- rebelcracker :))</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
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